ATR 42 and ATR 72 plane crashes

The following are significant events involving the aircraft model. The numbered events are those involving at least one passenger death where the aircraft flight had a direct or indirect role, and where at least one of the dead passengers was not a stowaway, hijacker, or saboteur.

  1. 15 October 1987; ATI ATR 42-300; I-ATRH; Mt. Crezzo, Italy: The aircraft took off on a scheduled international flight from Milan, Italy to Köln, Germany. Icing conditions existed at the time of departure. About 15 minutes after takeoff, the crew progressively lost control of the aircraft, and crashed into a 2300 ft (700m) mountain following an uncontrolled descent. All 34 passengers and three crew members were killed.

    12 March 1993; Ethiopian Airlines ATR 42-300; Dire Dawa, Ethiopia: The aircraft departed a scheduled domestic flight from Gambela to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia when four hijackers attempted to force the crew to fly to Djibouti. The crew landed at Dire Dawa to refuel, where Ethiopian authorities began negotiating with the hijackers. After six days of negotiations, security forces attacked the aircraft and killed two of the hijackers. None of the four crew members or 26 passengers were killed during this event. Because this did not involve the death of an airline passenger, this is a significant event (but not a numbered fatal event) as defined by AirSafe.com.

  2. 21 August 1994; Royal Air Maroc ATR 42-300; CN-CDT; near Tizounine, Morocco: Shortly after takeoff and while flying at about 16,000 feet (4880 meters), the aircraft entered a steep dive and impacted the ground. While the initial investigation pointed to suicidal actions by the pilot, the pilot's union found no evidence of suicidal behavior on the part of the pilot. All 40 passengers and four crew members were killed.

  3. 31 October 1994; American Eagle (Simmons Airlines) ATR 72-200; N401AM; flight 4184; near Roselawn, IN: This was a scheduled domestic flight from Indianapolis, IN and Chicago, IL. During descent, the crew activated the airframe deicing system. The crew was in a holding pattern at about 10,000 feet (3050 m) and while the aircraft was descending to 8,000 feet, the aircraft went out of control due to the effects of icing and crashed. The four crew members and 64 passengers were all killed. The icing occurred in areas of the wings that were beyond the area protected by the deicing system.
    Fatal American Airlines Events
    More about this event
    NTSB Accident Report Volume I
    NTSB Accident Report Volume II

    30 July 1997; Air Littoral ATR 42-500; flight 701; Florence, Italy: The aircraft departed a scheduled international flight from Nice, France to Florence, Italy. The aircraft overan the runway at Florence and came to rest on a nearby highway. One of the three crew members were killed, and all 14 passengers survived. Because this did not involve the death of an airline passenger, this is a significant event (but not a numbered fatal event) as defined by AirSafe.com.

    11 November 1999; Air Botswana ATR 42-300; A2-ABB; Gaborone, Botswana: An Air Botswana pilot, who had been grounded for medical reasons, took off alone in an Air Botswana ATR42 airliner, and crashed it into two of the airline's other ATR42s on the ground. Fortunately, there was no one else in the other two aircraft. The pilot was the only person killed in this event. This was not a fatal event as defined by AirSafe.com
    Fatal Events for Airlines of the Middle East and Africa

  4. 6 August 2005; Tuninter ATR 72; near Palermo, Italy: The aircraft was on an unscheduled international flight from Bari, Italy to Djerba, Tunisia when the aircraft reportedly developed engine trouble. The crew ditched the aircraft off the coast of Palermo. The aircraft had been on a scheduled domestic flight from Kish Island in the Persian Gulf. Two of the four crew members and 14 of the 35 passengers were killed.
    Fatal Events for Airlines of the Middle East and Africa

  5. 21 February 2008; Santa Barbara Airlines ATR 42; Flight 518; near Merida, Venezuela: The aircraft was on a scheduled domestic flight from Mˇrida to Caracas, Venezuela. It crashed into a mountain about six miles (10 km) from the airport, at about the 12,000 foot level of the mountain. All 43 passengers and three crew members were killed.

    4 August 2009; Bangkok Airways ATR 72-200; HS-PGL; flight 266, Koh Samui, Thailand: The aircraft was a scheduled domestic flight from Krabi to Koh Samui, Thailand, and skidded off the runway during the landing, hitting the control tower building. One of the four crew members was killed, but all 68 passengers survived. Because this did not involve the death of an airline passenger, this is a significant event (but not a numbered fatal event) as defined by AirSafe.com.

  6. 13 September 2010; Conviasa ATR 42-320; YV1010; Flight 371; Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela: The aircraft was on a scheduled domestic flight from Porlamar to Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela. It crashed into an industrial area just short of the destination airport. There were 17 fatalities among the 47 passengers and four crew members.

  7. 4 November 2010; AeroCaribbean; CU-T1549; ATR 72-212; Flight 883; near Guasimal, Sancti Spiritus Province, Cuba: The aircraft was on a domestic flight from Santiago to Havana, Cuba. The crew reported an emergency situation shortly before the aircraft crashed in mountainous terrain. All seven crew members and 61 passengers were killed.

  8. 2 April 2012; UTair ATR 72-200; VP-BYZ;flight 120; Tyumen, Russia: The aircraft was on scheduled domestic flight from Tyumen to Surgut, Russia. The airplane crashed broke up, and caught fire in a field about 1.5 miles (2.5 km) from the end of the departure runway. All four crew members and 27 of the 39 passengers were killed. This was the second fatal passenger jet crash involving this airline. The first was a 17 March 2007 crash of a UTair Tupolev Tu134A in Samara, Russia that killed six passengers.
    Fatal crashes of airlines of Russia and the former Soviet Union
    Additional information about this crash

  9. 16 October 2013; Lao Airlines ATR 72-600; RDPL-34233; flight QV301; near Pakxe, Laos: The aircraft was on a scheduled domestic flight from Vientiane, the capitol of Laos, to Pakxe in southern part of the country. It crashed into the Mekong river during its approach and sank. The crash occurred about eight kilometers (five miles) from the airport. All five crew members and 44 passengers were killed.

  10. 23 July 2014; TransAsia Airways ATR 72-500; B-22810; flight GE222; near Magong, Taiwan: The aircraft was on a scheduled domestic flight between Kaohsiung and Magong, Taiwan. The airplane crashed into a residential area near the airport during a go around following an attempted landing at Magong, Taiwan, which is on Penghu island. All four crew members and 44 of the 54 passengers were killed.. At least five people on the ground were also injured. There was heavy rain in the area at the time of the crash.
    Official accident report
    More about this event

  11. 4 February 2015; TransAsia Airways ATR 72-600; B-22816; flight GE235; Taipei, Taiwan: The aircraft was on a scheduled domestic flight between Taipei and Kinmen Island, Taiwan. The airplane crashed into a river shortly after takeoff from Songshan Airport in Taipei. The aircraft hit a bridge, as well as a vehicle on that bridge, before plunging into the Keelung River. Shortly before hitting the bridge, the aircraft rolled sharply to the left. Four of the five crew members, including both pilots, and 39 of 53 passengers were killed. The two people who were in the vehicle were both injured.

    This was the second fatal plane crash in less than a year for TransAsia Airways. Having two or more plane crashes in less than a year has happened over 35 times since 1970.
    More about this event

  12. 16 August 2015; Trigana Air Service ATR 42-300; PK-YRN; flight 257; near Oksibil, Indonesia: The aircraft was on a scheduled domestic flight between Jayapura and Oksibil, Indonesia. The airplane crashed in mountainous terrain at about 8,500 feet (2,600 m) above sea level during a period of reduced visibility due to rain and fog. residential area near the airport during a go around following an attempted landing at Magong, Taiwan, which is on Penghu island. All five crew members and 49 passengers were killed.
    More about this event
    Trigana Air Service plane crashes

  13. 7 December 2016; Pakistan International Airlines ; ATR 42-500; AP-BHO; flight PK661; near Havelian, Pakistan: The aircraft was on a scheduled domestic flight from Chitral to Islamabad, Pakistan. While en route, the crew reported that there was an engine problem, and that the aircraft was descending. Shortly afterwards, the crew declared an emergency. The aircraft crashed into a hillside and caught fire. All five crew members and 42 passengers were killed.
    More on this event
    PIA plane crashes

  14. 13 December 2017; West Wind Aviation ATR 42-300; C-GWEA; flight WEW-280; Fond-du-Lac, Canada: The aircraft crashed into a wooded area shortly after takeoff on a flight from Fond-du-Lac to Stony Rapids, both in northern Saskatchewan All three crew members survived and one of the 22 passengers was killed.
    More on this event

  15. 18 February 2018; Iran Aseman Airlines ATR 72-212; EP-ATS; flight 3704; near Yasuj, Iran: The aircraft was on a scheduled domestic flight from Tehran to Yasuj, Iran. About 50 after minutes takeoff, the aircraft crashed crashed in a mountainous area about 10 nm from its destination. All six crew members and 59 passengers were killed.
    More on this event



Related information
Recent crashes
Plane crashes by model
Plane crash rates by model
Plane crashes by airline

ATR 42 and ATR 72 plane crashes
http://www.airsafe.com/events/models/atr.htm -- Revised: 19 February 2018