ATR 42

The ATR 42 is a safe aircraft, but its record per flight is weaker than that of most airliners. The main reason is where it works: short runways in mountains, jungle, islands and the Arctic, often for small airlines. On a scheduled flight with an established carrier, the airframe is not the risk to worry about.

Where you fly on an ATR 42

The ATR 42 was the first aircraft from the Franco-Italian ATR venture. It first flew in 1984 and entered service in 1985. About 490 have been built and about 280 are in service, with roughly 48 seats each. It is the aircraft airlines choose when an ATR 72 is too big or the runway too short: Air Tahiti in French Polynesia, Canadian North in the Arctic, Air Saint-Pierre off Newfoundland, and many operators in Indonesia, Africa and Latin America. Many older ones now fly cargo.

ATR 42s fly fewer flights per year than most airliners, about 6.2 million passenger flights in total since 1985. A handful of crashes therefore weighs heavily on the record.

The fatal record

Our data lists 15 fatal events up to 7 October 2026. Nine count toward the score:

• 15 October 1987, ATI, near Como, Italy: lost control in icing while climbing out of Milan. All 37 died. Icing was a factor, years before the Roselawn crash on the ATR 72.
• 12 November 1999, SiFly (UN flight), Kosovo: flew into a mountain on approach to Pristina. All 24 died.
• 21 February 2008, Santa Bárbara Airlines, Mérida, Venezuela: flew into the Andes after take-off. All 46 died.
• 13 September 2010, Conviasa, Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela: 17 of 51 died.
• 16 August 2015, Trigana Air, Papua, Indonesia: flew into terrain on approach to Oksibil. All 54 died.
• 7 December 2016, PIA, Havelian, Pakistan: an engine failed in flight on the way from Chitral and the crew lost control. All 47 died.
• 6 November 2022, Precision Air, Bukoba: crashed into Lake Victoria on approach in bad weather. 19 of 43 died.

Two more accidents killed one person each (Florence 1997, Fond-du-Lac 2017).

Six events do not count. The 1994 Royal Air Maroc crash near Agadir, which killed all 44, was found to be a deliberate act by the captain. Two acts of unlawful interference, a 2002 cargo crash in Brazil and a January 2026 government surveillance flight in Sulawesi complete the list, with a Nigerian Air Force ATR 42 that crashed on 5 October 2026, killing all 25 on board, which was a military flight. Our methodology explains the rules.

Is it the aircraft or where it flies?

Look at the places: the Andes, Papua's highlands, the mountains of northern Pakistan and Kosovo, a lake shore in a storm. Most of the counted crashes involved mountains or bad weather, and several were on routes to airports no airliner jet uses, such as Oksibil, Chitral and Bukoba. These are the runways small turboprops are built for, often without precision approaches or radar, with fast-changing weather and with crews who rely on visual flying. Some operators on these routes, such as Trigana, were on the EU air safety listEU Air Safety ListThe European Commission's list of airlines banned or restricted from flying in EU airspace because they do not meet international safety standards.More in the glossary at the time.

The design has improved: the 42-500 and 42-600 have new engines, six-blade propellers and, on the 600, a glass cockpit. But a better cockpit does not make a mountain approach in cloud safe.

How to tell if you are on one

Flight trackers show AT43 (ATR 42-300), AT44 (42-320), AT45 (42-500) and AT46 (42-600). It looks like a shorter ATR 72, with a high wing and a door at the rear. If your route is remote, check whether the airline is on the EU air safety listEU Air Safety ListThe European Commission's list of airlines banned or restricted from flying in EU airspace because they do not meet international safety standards.More in the glossary and whether it flies in bad weather or waits; the answer tells you more than the type code.