Incidents and accidents
Notable accidents
November 21, 1990: a Bangkok Airways de Havilland Canada DHC-8-103 crashed on Koh Samui while attempting to land in heavy rain and high winds. All 38 people on board died.[21]
January 6, 1993: Lufthansa Cityline Flight 5634 crashed short of the runway near Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport, France. The crash killed four out of 23 passengers and crew.[citation needed]
June 9, 1995: Ansett New Zealand Flight 703 Dash 8-102 from Auckland Airport to Palmerston North crashed on western slopes of the Tararua Ranges and 16 km east of Palmerston North Airport during an instrument approach in inclement weather, four killed.
February 12, 2009: Colgan Air Flight 3407 a Q400, from Newark Liberty International Airport to Buffalo Niagara International Airport stalled and crashed into a house in Clarence Center, New York, while preparing to land at the airport. All 49 people on board, including four crew and one off duty pilot, and one person on the ground were killed. Two other people on the ground received minor injuries. The National Transportation Safety Board determined that pilot error cause factors, including a "startle and confusion" response by the captain, were the primary contributors to the accident.[22][23][24][25]
November 23, 2009: a de Havilland Canada DHC-8-200, being operated on behalf of United States Africa Command, made an emergency landing at Tarakigné, Mali and was substantially damaged when the undercarriage collapsed and the starboard wing was ripped off.[26]
Major landing gear incidents
A Dash 8 after landing at Kōchi Ryōma Airport on March 13, 2007, when the front landing gear failed to extendMain article: Dash 8 landing gear incidents
In September 2007, two separate incidents of similar landing gear failures occurred within four days of each other on SAS Dash 8-Q400 aircraft. A third incident occurred in October 2007, leading to the withdrawal of the type from the airline's fleet.
September 9, 2007: The crew of Scandinavian Airlines Flight 1209, en route from Copenhagen to Aalborg, reported problems with the locking mechanism of the right side landing gear, and Aalborg Airport was prepared for an emergency landing. Shortly after touchdown the right main gear collapsed and the airliner skidded off the runway while fragments of the right propeller shot against the cabin and the right engine caught fire. Of 69 passengers and four crew on board, 11 were sent to hospital, five with only minor injuries.[27][28][29] The accident was filmed by a local news channel (TV2-Nord) and broadcast live on national television. The video footage can be seen on YouTube.[30]
September 12, 2007: Scandinavian Airlines Flight 2748 from Copenhagen to Palanga had a similar problem with the landing gear, forcing the aircraft to land in Vilnius. No passengers or crew were injured.[31] Immediately after this incident SAS grounded all their 33 Dash-8/Q400 airliners and, a few hours later, Bombardier recommended that all Dash-8/Q400s with more than 10,000 flights be grounded until further notice.[32]
October 27, 2007: Scandinavian Airlines Flight 2867 en route from Bergen to Copenhagen had severe problems with the landing gear during landing in Kastrup Airport. Right wing gear did not deploy properly (or partially), and the aircraft skidded off the runway in a controlled emergency landing. The Q400 was carrying 38 passengers, two infants and four crew members onboard. No injuries were reported. The incident is being investigated by the civil aviation administration in Scandinavia and all Dash 8-400 aircraft within the SAS Group are grounded.[33][34] The preliminary Danish investigation determined this latest Q400 incident is unrelated to the airline's earlier corrosion problems, in this particular case caused by a misplaced O-ring found blocking the orifice in the restrictor valve.[35] On the next day, SAS permanently removed its entire Dash 8 Q400 fleet from service.[36]
On September 12, 2007, Bombardier recommended all Q400s with over 10,000 landings to be grounded for inspection of their landing gear after two non-fatal accidents within three days involving the landing gear of a Q400 series aircraft. Both incident aircraft were operated by Scandinavian Airlines, an early operator of the type.[37] This affected about 60 aircraft, out of 140 Q400s in service. In all, eight Q400s had landing gear failures while landing during 2007: four in Denmark, one in Germany, one in Japan, one in Lithuania and one in South Korea; see section Notable incidents and accidents. Following an incident at Copenhagen Airport, October 27, 2007, Scandinavian Airlines' executive board decided to permanently remove its entire Q-400 fleet from service. In a press release on October 28, 2007, the company's president said: "Confidence in the Q400 has diminished considerably and our customers are becoming increasingly doubtful about flying in this type of aircraft. Accordingly, with the Board of Directors' approval, I have decided to immediately remove Dash 8 Q400 aircraft from service."[33][36][38] On March 10, 2008, SAS ordered 27 more aircraft from Bombardier in a compensation deal, 14 Q400 NextGen and 13 CRJ900.[39]
In November 2007, it was revealed that Swedish Civil Aviation Authority began an investigation and accused Scandinavian Airlines System of cutting corners for maintenance. The airline reportedly made 2,300 flights in which safety equipment was not up to standard.[40]
