De Havilland Canada (Bombardier) · Turboprop
De Havilland Canada Dash 8
Is the De Havilland Canada Dash 8 safe? It ranks Shared rankWithin 1 point of other aircraft types: the difference is not meaningful.More in the glossary of 53 airliner families we rate, with 6 fatal accidents counted in about 27 million passenger flights.
How the score is built
- Fatal passenger accidents
- 6 in 27.4 million flights
0.22 fatal passenger accidents per million flights. Counted: passenger flights, accidents and unexplained losses; not counted: sabotage, hijackings, shoot-downs and deliberate crew acts.
- Full-loss equivalents
- 4
Each counted accident adds the share of people on board who died (1 = no survivors). This is what the score is based on.
- Flights flown
- 27.4 million
Estimated passenger departures. Passenger departures 1984 to 7 October 2026. 2019-2022: OpenSky flights by passenger airlines, re-weighted to World Bank departures country by country. Other years: fleet model (deliveries with a median passenger service life of about 18 years, about 1,535 departures per aircraft per year, calibrated on OpenSky 2022). Uncertainty roughly ±25%.
- Technology generation
- Modern turboprop (designed from the 1980s)
Small fleets are pulled toward the record of their generation: 0.92 full-loss equivalents per million flights over 80.3 million flights. Weight of this family's own record: 90%.
- Last fatal passenger accident
- 12 March 2018
US-Bangla Airlines, Kathmandu-Tribhuvan Airport (KTM), Nepal: 51 of 71 people on board died.
- Hull losses
- 39
Civil aircraft destroyed or written off from all causes, including non-fatal accidents, cargo flights and attacks; airframes flown by air forces on military operations are left out (context only, not in the score).
Compared with everyday risks
One flight on the De Havilland Canada Dash 8 carries about the same risk of death as the activities near it below.
- An hour's walk1 in 14 million
- Driving 100 miles (160 km)1 in 5.9 million
- One flight on the De Havilland Canada Dash 8This aircraft1 in 4.5 million
- A day of skiing1 in 1.3 million
- An ordinary day: accidents and violence1 in 1 million
- A scuba dive1 in 500,000
- Cycling 100 miles (160 km)1 in 430,000
- Running a marathon1 in 290,000
- A skydive1 in 250,000
- A general anaesthetic1 in 100,000
- Riding a motorbike 100 miles (160 km)1 in 83,000
Accident history
6 fatal accidents count toward the score, with 174 people on board killed.
| Date | Flight | Killed | What happened |
|---|---|---|---|
| US-Bangla AirlinesDHC-8-402Q Dash 8 · Kathmandu-Tribhuvan Airport (KTM), Nepal | 51 / 71 on board | Badly off the approach path to Kathmandu, the crew circled at low height trying to line up, then forced a landing at a sharp angle to runway 20, ran off the side and the aircraft burned. The commission found the crew were disoriented and never tried a go-around.Type: Runway excursionASN record | |
| Airlines PNGDHC-8-102 · 20 km S of Madang Airport (MAG), Papua New Guinea | 28 / 32 on board | Hand-flying a steep descent toward Madang, the captain pulled the power levers past the flight idle gate when the overspeed warning sounded. Both propellers oversped, wrecking the left engine and leaving no usable thrust, and the aircraft force-landed gear-up and burned.Type: Engine failureASN record | |
| Colgan Air, opf Continental Connection CJC3407DHC-8-402Q Dash 8 · 10 km NE of Buffalo Niagara International Airport, NY (BUF), United States of America | 49 / 49 on board | On approach to Buffalo at night the airspeed decayed unnoticed; when the stick shaker fired the captain pulled back instead of lowering the nose. The aircraft stalled, rolled and dived into a house. Distraction from non-essential conversation contributed.Type: Loss of control in flightASN record | |
| Ansett New ZealandDHC-8-102 · 16 km E of Palmerston North, New Zealand | 4 / 21 on board | On a non-precision approach in cloud the right main gear did not lock down. While the captain directed the first officer through the alternate extension procedure, the aircraft sank below the approach profile and hit a hillside.Type: Flight into terrainASN record | |
| Contact Air Flugdienst, lsf Lufthansa Cityline LH5634DHC-8-311 · 1,8 km E of Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG), France | 4 / 23 on board | When runway 27 was closed after a preceding 747 scraped an engine on it, the crew were switched late to the runway 28 approach. Still in cloud without the runway in sight, the aircraft sank rapidly and hit the ground 1,800 m short.Type: Flight into terrainASN record | |
| Bangkok Airways BKP125DHC-8-103 · 5 km SW of Koh Samui Airport (USM), Thailand | 38 / 38 on board | After overshooting the turn onto final, the crew went around in heavy rain unsure which way to turn. Disoriented, they let the aircraft roll left and descend into a coconut plantation.Type: Loss of control in flightASN record |
Listed but not counted
These events did not happen on regular passenger flights or were caused by a crime or a deliberate act, which says little about the aircraft design.
| Date | Flight | Killed | Why not counted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japan Coast GuardDHC-8-315Q MPA · Tokyo-Haneda Airport (HND/RJTT), Japan | 5 / 6 on board | Military operation. The Coast Guard Dash 8 was heading out with earthquake relief supplies when it entered the runway at Haneda against an instruction to hold short and was hit by a landing JAL A350. Five of its six crew died; everyone on the A350 escaped. Stop-bar lights were out of service.Type: Runway collisionASN record | |
| Horizon Air, opf Alaska AirlinesDHC-8-402Q Dash 8 · Ketron Island, WA, United States of America | 1 / 1 on board | Unlawful interference (sabotage, hijacking or shoot-down). An airline ground-service agent took the empty Q400 from Seattle-Tacoma without authorisation, flew aerobatics over Puget Sound while talking to ATC, and later dived into Ketron Island. The FBI found the crash intentional; no motive was identified.Type: SecurityASN record | |
| United States Air Force - USAFDHC-8-202 · Acandí, Chocó Province, Colombia | 4 / 6 on board | Not a scheduled passenger flight. On a counter-drug patrol near the Panama border, the US military Dash 8 crashed near Acandí; both pilots survived. No cause is given.Type: Unknown causeASN record |
The Dash 8 is one of the safer turboprops you can fly on. Over about 27 million passenger flights since 1984, its fatal crashes have mostly come down to crew handling and difficult approaches rather than the aircraft's design.
Where you fly on a Dash 8
De Havilland Canada designed the Dash 8 in the early 1980s; Bombardier later owned the programme and renamed the stretched, faster -400 the Q400. About 1,280 were built in four sizes, from the 37-seat -100 to the Q400 with up to about 90 seats, and around 900 are in service.
In Canada it is everywhere: Porter, WestJet Encore and Jazz (Air Canada Express). Widerøe flies it into Norway's short coastal and Arctic runways, QantasLink (Qantas) across Australia and Air New Zealand on regional routes. Ethiopian Airlines, Luxair and SpiceJet in India also fly the Q400. In the US, the Q400 has largely gone from passenger service.
The design and its weak points
The Q400 cruises faster than most turboprops, close to regional jet times on short routes. Its one well-known design problem was the landing gear. In September 2007, two SAS Q400s had their right main gear collapse on landing within days, at Aalborg and Vilnius, and a third failed at Copenhagen weeks later. Nobody died, but SAS retired its entire Q400 fleet, and the world fleet was inspected for corrosion in the gear.
The fatal record
Six fatal accidents happened on passenger flights up to 7 October 2026:
- 12 February 2009, Colgan Air 3407 (Continental Connection), Buffalo: the Q400 stalled on approach at night in icing conditions. The NTSB found that the captain pulled back when the stall warning sounded, instead of pushing forward. All 49 on board and one person on the ground died. The crash led to the US rule requiring airline co-pilots to have 1,500 flight hours, and to new rest rules.
- 12 March 2018, US-Bangla 211, Kathmandu: a confused approach ended in a crash beside the runway. 51 of 71 died.
- 13 October 2011, Airlines PNG 1600, near Madang: both propellers oversped during descent and the crew made a forced landing. 28 of 32 died.
- 21 November 1990, Bangkok Airways 125, Koh Samui: crashed on approach. All 38 died.
- 9 June 1995, Ansett New Zealand 703, Palmerston North: while busy with a landing gear problem, the crew descended into hills. 4 of 21 died.
- 6 January 1993, Contact Air (Lufthansa CityLine flight 5634), Paris-Charles de Gaulle: crashed on approach. 4 of 23 died.
Three other events do not count toward the score. A Horizon Air ground worker stole an empty Q400 at Seattle in 2018 and crashed it. A US Air Force Dash 8 crashed in Colombia in 2013. And on 2 January 2024, a Japan Coast Guard Dash 8 entered the runway at Tokyo Haneda and was hit by JAL 516, an Airbus A350: five of the six Coast Guard crew died, and all 379 people on the A350 got out. Our methodology explains why these are left out.
Turboprop flying and fair comparison
Turboprops fly lower, through icing layers, and into shorter runways in harder terrain than jets. Papua New Guinea and Kathmandu are among the most demanding places to operate any aircraft. Seen against that, the Dash 8 compares well with the ATR 72, its main rival, partly because many Dash 8s fly in Canada, Scandinavia and Australia under strong oversight.
How to tell if you are on one
Flight trackers show DH8A (Dash 8-100), DH8B (-200), DH8C (-300) and DH8D (Q400). The Dash 8 has a high wing, a T-tail and long engine nacelles that hold the main landing gear. Unlike the ATR, you usually board at the front. If you fly Porter or Widerøe, this is the aircraft you will be on.
Questions people ask
Is the Bombardier Q400 a safe plane?
Yes. The Q400 has two fatal accidents in passenger service up to October 2026, Colgan 3407 and US-Bangla 211, and in both investigators blamed mainly how the crew flew the aircraft. Porter, WestJet Encore, Widerøe and QantasLink fly it every day.
Why did SAS stop flying the Dash 8 Q400?
In 2007, three SAS Q400s had main landing gear failures on landing within weeks, the first two caused by corrosion in a gear part. Nobody died. SAS withdrew the type for good, and the manufacturer and regulators ordered inspections across the world fleet.
What caused the Colgan Air 3407 crash?
On 12 February 2009, the Q400 stalled on approach to Buffalo and all 49 people on board died, as well as one person on the ground. The NTSB found that the captain responded wrongly to the stall warning. The crash led to stricter US rules on pilot experience, training and rest.
Is the Dash 8 still in production?
De Havilland Canada paused Dash 8-400 production in 2022. About 900 of the roughly 1,280 built are still flying, so you will see the type for many years.
Sources
- 1.ASN record: Colgan Air flight 3407 (Continental Connection), Buffalo, 12 February 2009 (opens in a new tab) · Aviation Safety Network
- 2.ASN record: US-Bangla Airlines flight 211, Kathmandu, 12 March 2018 (opens in a new tab) · Aviation Safety Network
- 3.ASN record: Airlines PNG flight 1600, Madang, 13 October 2011 (opens in a new tab) · Aviation Safety Network
- 4.ASN record: Japan Coast Guard Dash 8 collision with JAL 516, Haneda, 2 January 2024 (opens in a new tab) · Aviation Safety Network
- 5.SafetyScorer exposure model: OpenSky Network flights 2019-2022, World Bank departures, fleet model (opens in a new tab)Passenger departures 1984 to 7 October 2026. 2019-2022: OpenSky flights by passenger airlines, re-weighted to World Bank departures country by country. Other years: fleet model (deliveries with a median passenger service life of about 18 years, about 1,535 departures per aircraft per year, calibrated on OpenSky 2022). Uncertainty roughly ±25%.