The Let L-410 Turbolet is a twin-engine short-range turboprop transport aircraft designed and produced by the Czech aircraft manufacturer Let Kunovice (named Aircraft Industries since 2005). It was developed as the L-400 during the 1960s in response to an Aeroflot requirement for an Antonov An-2 replacement and performed its maiden flight on 16 April 1969.
Since 1970, the L‑410 has been in operation with a variety of customers, having been typically used as an airliner and a utility transport aircraft, numerous military air services have also adopted the type. The aircraft is capable of landing on short and unpaved runways and operating under extreme conditions from −50 to +50 °C (−58 to 122 °F).
Various models of the L-410 have been produced over the type’s production run of over fifty years; while initial aircraft were powered by imported Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6-27 engines, most models have been powered by domestically built Walter M601. Both the size and capabilities of the aircraft differ across the family; during the 1990s, the company pivoted towards the Western market and pursued type certification by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) of its later models.
