Plane Crashes Involving the ATR 42 and ATR 72

The following events are those involving at least one passenger death where the aircraft flight had a direct or indirect role. Excluded would be events where the only passengers killed were stowaways, hijackers, or saboteurs.

  1. 15 October 1987; ATI ATR 42; Mt. Crezzo, Italy: The aircraft took off from Milan for a flight to Köln. 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.

  2. 21 August 1994; Royal Air Maroc ATR 42; 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; 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
    Wikipedia Entry for this Accident
    NTSB Accident Report Volume I  (Summary)
    NTSB Accident Report Volume II  (Summary)

    11 November 1999; Air Botswana ATR 42; 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 Mérida 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.

Related Pages
Recent U.S. Fatal Events
Fatal Events by Airline
Accidents by U.S. Airline
U.S. Airline Fleets
Fatal Events by Model
Fatal Event Rates by Model
Accidents by Model

Plane Crashes Involving the ATR 42 and ATR 72
http://www.airsafe.com/events/models/atr.htm -- Revised: 1 March 2009