News at 4Cs

Cape Air Donates New Aircraft to the Cape Cod Community College Aviation Maintenance Technology (AMT) Program

This week, in continued support of aviation education and local talent development, Cape Air gifted Cape Cod Community College’s Aviation Maintenance Technology (AMT) program a recently retired Cessna 402c aircraft for student training. The new aircraft joins the AMT’s programs growing fleet – including two other donated planes from Cape Air – at their facilities in Plymouth Municipal Airport.

“We are proud to support aviation education and to play a role in cultivating new talent in the field of Aviation Maintenance Technology,” said Linda Markham, President and CEO of Cape Air. “We have been actively supporting Cape Cod Community College’s AMT program since its inception in 2016 when we donated our first aircraft. To see this program grow and its students flourish is a testament to our commitment to the community and to the aviation industry as a whole.”

The Cessna 402c is a 9-passenger twin engine aircraft that served many of Cape Air’s routes in the northeast. The 2-year AMT program at 4Cs meets a critical need for highly skilled technicians in airframe and power plant repair – including full FAA Certification. For the program itself to be certified to deliver a comprehensive maintenance, repair and overhaul curriculum, it is critical for students to have the opportunity to train on working aircraft. The Cessna 402C will benefit students who are working towards the completion of training on airframe, including fuselage, wings and electronics systems.

“We are proud to partner with Cape Cod Community College in this way,” said James Goddard, Senior Vice President of Fleet Planning for Cape Air. “Rather than retiring the aircraft completely, it is being used to teach students in the program and prepare them to work in the industry, perhaps even at an airline just down the street from where they first honed their skills in aviation technology.”

The gift comes to the AMT program at a time of significant growth. From humble beginnings and small cohorts of students, the program is now among the largest and most successful in New England, educating hundreds of students that have gone on to careers both locally and nationally. To support growth and to continue to train and educate as many students as possible the program has added a fully night-time option for classes and has launched and AMT Pathways program for local high school students.

“We are very appreciative of Cape Air and their ongoing commitment to our AMT program, and to the success of our students,” said John Cox, President of Cape Cod Community College. “Thanks in large part to their support, we can support this important program and continue to thrive as the region’s premiere training and education facility for Aviation Maintenance. Their gift will go to good use, allowing up-close-and-personal training for students for years to come.”

Applications are currently being accepted for the AMT program at Cape Cod Community College with the next semester of classes beginning January 22. Massachusetts residents over the age of 25 with no previous college degree may be eligible to enroll in the AMT program for free thanks to the MassReconnect program. To learn more or to schedule a tour of the facilities at Plymouth Municipal airport visit capecod.edu/aviation, email [email protected] or call 508-375-5050.