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Fatal and Signficant Events for the
Bombardier Dash 8 and Dash 7 Models

The following are either fatal events involving at least one passenger death or significant safety occurrences involving one of these aircraft models. Excluded would be events where the only passengers killed were stowaways, hijackers, or saboteurs. The passenger fatalities in the numbered events may be due to accidents, hijackings, sabotage, or military action. The events that are not numbered may or may not include fatalities, and are included because they meet the criteria of a significant event as defined by AirSafe.com

Dash 7

1. 9 May1982; Alyemda Dash 7; near Aden, Yemen: The aircraft lost altitude and crashed into the sea about 2 km short of the runway. Two of the four crew members and 21 of the 44 passengers were killed.

2. 6 May1988; Wideroe Dash 7; near Bronnoysund, Norway: The aircraft was on a scheduled domestic flight from Namsos to Bronnoysund, Norway. The crew started the aircraft's descent to the landing runway about four nautical miles early, and crashed into high ground while in poor visibility conditions. All three crew members and 33 passengers were killed.

Dash 8

15 April 1988; Horizon Air Dash 8; Seattle, WA: The aircraft was on a scheduled domestic flight from Seattle, WA to Spokane, WA. The crew executed an air turn back after the right engine lost power during climbout. The crew noticed a right engine fire after lowering the landing gear. Fire damage to the hydraulic system led to a loss of control of the aircraft after landing. The aircraft departed the runway and struck ground equipment and two jetways. The aircraft was subsequently destroyed by fire. None of the three crew members and 37 passengers were killed, but four passengers were seriously injured.

The NTSB concluded that the fuel leak that led to the subsequent fire in the right engine nacelle was due to improper installation of the high pressure fuel filter cover, a problem that occurred during an engine overhaul and that was not discovered by the airline when the engine was installed.
Other Horizon Air Events

1. 21 November 1990; Bangkok Airways Dash 8; near Koh Samui, Thailand: The aircraft was on a scheduled domestic flight from Bangkok, Thailand to Koh Samui. While executing a missed approach procedure at the destination airport, the aircraft entered an area of heavy rain, causing the flight crew to become disoriented. The aircraft then had a controlled flight into terrain, crashing into a coconut plantation. All five crew members and 33 passengers were killed.
   Wikipedia Entry About Bangkok Airways

2. 6 January 1993; Lufthansa Cityline Dash 8; Paris, France: The aircraft was on a scheduled international flight from Bremen, Germany to Paris, France. The flight was ordered to change runways due to a tire failure of a preceding Korean Air 747. The crew lost control and struck the ground while maneuvering to the alternate runway. All four crew members survived, but four of the 19 passengers were killed.
   Other Lufthansa Events

3. 9 June 1995; Ansett New Zealand Dash 8; near Palmerston, New Zealand: The aircraft struck high ground during a daylight approach in poor weather. One of the three crew members and four of the 18 passengers were killed.

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4. 12 February 2009; Continental Connection (Colgan Air) Dash 8 Q-400; Flight 3407; near Buffalo, NY: The aircraft, a scheduled flight from Newark, NJ and operated by Colgan Air, crashed in a residential area about seven miles from the airport. At least one house on the ground was destroyed. All 45 passengers and four crew members were killed, along with one person on the ground.
   Wikipedia Entry About this Accident
   Other Dash 8 Events

   Listen to AirSafe.com's Initial Report on this Accident

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   Continental Connection Crash in Buffalo

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Fatal Events by Model
Fatal Event Rates by Model
Accidents by Model