Bombardier Q400 Planes Involved in Past Incidents, Cut From Other Airline’s Fleet

The same type of plane that crashed into a home in Buffalo this week has been cited in numerous incidents in the past and was consequently removed from one airline’s fleet. The plane, a Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 74-seat turboprop, went down in New York late Thursday night. All 49 passengers — including Beverly Eckert, a woman widowed by 9/11 — died.

Bombardier Q400: Past Problems

The Bombardier Q400 series of planes has been involved in 13 previous incidents, Bloomberg reports, none of which resulted in deaths. The majority happened during landing, and many centered around landing gear issues.

The parent company of Scandinavian Airlines, as such, grounded its entire fleet of Q400s in 2007. The airline stopped using the planes altogether soon thereafter. Scandinavian said landing gear malfunctions had caused three crashes within a timespan of six weeks.

“Confidence in the Q400 has diminished considerably, and our customers are becoming increasingly doubtful about flying in this type of aircraft,” the airline’s president and CEO said in a statement issued in October of 2007. “Accordingly, with the board of directors’ approval, I have decided to immediately remove Dash 8 Q400 aircraft from service.”

Bombardier responded by saying it was “disappointed” with the decision, and that it “[stood] behind the Q400 aircraft.”

About Buffalo’s Bombardier Dash 8 Q400

The Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 involved in Thursday’s crash, registration number N200WQ, was built in 2008. It had been in the hands of Colgan Air — which operated Continental flight 3407 on behalf of Continental Airlines — since April of last year.

Bombardier released the following statement Friday regarding the crash:

“Bombardier confirms a Dash 8 Q400 aircraft was involved in an accident near Buffalo, New York on February 12. We extend our sympathies to the families of those who perished in this accident. Bombardier has dispatched a product safety and technical team to the site to assist the National Transportation Safety Board with their investigation.

Until such time as the investigators release any information or findings, Bombardier cannot comment further or speculate on the cause of this accident.”