Beechcraft 1900 variant
Beechcraft 1900 1900D Super Freighter
A cargo conversion of the 1900D under a supplemental type certificate awarded to Alpine Air Express: cargo interior, an extra emergency exit in the cockpit and single-pilot operation.
History
A freighter born from a tall cabin
The 1900D's stand-up cabin, conceived for passenger comfort, turned out to be a freight argument: the same volume that lets people walk upright carries bulky, low-density packages, which is precisely what air courier work moves. Alpine Air Express obtained a supplemental type certificate to convert the 1900D into a freighter, adding a second emergency exit at the cockpit and reconfiguring the interior.
The result carries some twenty-five cubic metres of cargo, around thirty per cent more than a 1900C, approaching the useful volume of an Embraer EMB-120 with the advantage of being certificated for single-pilot operation. That combination — minimum crew, a surplus of used airframes and well-understood PT6A-67D engines — explains why the 1900D found a second life in freight as regional airlines let it go.