Advertisement

Bombardier grounds 60 turboprop planes

TORONTO, Sept. 12 (UPI) -- Canada's Bombardier Inc. grounded 60 Q400 "Dash 8" turboprop planes worldwide Wednesday after landing gear collapses caused two crashes in three days.

The groundings prompted at least three airlines -- Alaska Air Group Inc.'s regional Horizon Air, Denmark's Scandinavian Airlines System and Austrian Airlines AG -- to cancel nearly 300 flights.

Advertisement

The crashes, both involving SAS flights -- in Aalborg, Denmark, Sunday and Vilnius, Lithuania, Wednesday -- caused five reported injuries.

Bombardier and landing gear manufacturer Goodrich Corp. asked operators of the 60 Q400s with landing gear that was used for more than 10,000 takeoffs and landings to ground the planes until they were inspected.

About 160 Q400s are in service worldwide.

"Until such time as investigations are concluded by the relevant aviation authorities, Bombardier cannot speculate or comment as to the cause of these incidents," the Montreal aerospace company said.

Five people were injured in the first crash, when an SAS Q400 crash-landed and caught fire. No one was reported injured when the second SAS Q400 smashed a wing into the ground after its right-side landing gear failed to lower during an emergency landing.

Advertisement

The twin-engine, medium-range Q400 can seat between 68 and 78 passengers, depending on configuration.

Latest Headlines

Advertisement

Trending Stories

Advertisement

Follow Us

Advertisement