Embraer · Turboprop
Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia
Is the Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia 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 8 fatal accidents counted in about 4.6 million passenger flights.
How the score is built
- Fatal passenger accidents
- 8 in 4.6 million flights
1.7 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
- 6.8
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
- 4.6 million
Estimated passenger departures. Passenger departures 1985 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 22 years, about 645 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: 61%.
- Last fatal passenger accident
- 3 October 2013
Associated Aviation, Lagos-Murtala Muhammed International Airport (LOS), Nigeria: 16 of 20 people on board died.
- Hull losses
- 25
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 Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia 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
- A day of skiing1 in 1.3 million
- An ordinary day: accidents and violence1 in 1 million
- One flight on the Embraer EMB 120 BrasiliaThis aircraft1 in 800,000
- 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
8 fatal accidents count toward the score, with 162 people on board killed.
| Date | Flight | Killed | What happened |
|---|---|---|---|
| Associated AviationEMB-120RT Brasilia · Lagos-Murtala Muhammed International Airport (LOS), Nigeria | 16 / 20 on board | With a torque gauge stuck and flaps not set, the crew pressed on with the takeoff from Lagos even after the right propeller autofeathered. The aircraft rotated early, could not climb, stalled and crashed near the fuel depot. A propeller control fault was cited.Type: Engine failureASN record | |
| Rico Linhas AéreasEMB-120ER Brasilia · 33 km from Manaus, AM, Brazil | 33 / 33 on board | Vectored away from the approach to Manaus to give way to an air ambulance, the crew reported level at 2,000 ft, then the aircraft kept descending into dense forest about 18 nm out. Investigators cited poor crew coordination and training.Type: Flight into terrainASN record | |
| Rico Linhas AéreasEMB-120ER Brasilia · 1,5 km from Rio Branco-Plácido de Castro International Airport, AC (RBR), Brazil | 23 / 31 on board | Approaching Rio Branco in a rainstorm, the crew went below the minimum descent altitude and the aircraft hit high ground 1.5 km before the runway.Type: Flight into terrainASN record | |
| Delta Connection, opb ComairEMB-120RT Brasilia · near Monroe, MI, United States of America | 29 / 29 on board | Descending toward Detroit at low speed with flaps up, the aircraft picked up a thin layer of rough ice, rolled sharply left and dived into a field. The NTSB faulted FAA icing certification rules and the lack of clear minimum speeds for icing.Type: IcingASN record | |
| Delta Connection, opb Atlantic Southeast Airlines - ASAEMB-120ER Brasilia · 13 km W of Carrollton, GA, United States of America | 8 / 29 on board | Climbing through about 18,000 ft, a left propeller blade broke off from a corrosion-induced fatigue crack and distorted the nacelle. The crew could not hold altitude and hit trees while diverting. The NTSB faulted Hamilton Standard's inspection methods.Type: Engine failureASN record | |
| Continental Express, opb Britt AirwaysEMB-120RT Brasilia · Eagle Lake, TX, United States of America | 14 / 14 on board | Screws had been removed from the left stabilizer leading edge during overnight maintenance and never refitted. In descent the leading edge tore away, the aircraft pitched violently nose-down and broke up. The NTSB cited maintenance and management failures.Type: System failureASN record | |
| Delta Connection, opb Atlantic Southeast Airlines - ASAEMB-120RT Brasilia · 3 km W of Brunswick-Glynco Jetport, GA (BQK), United States of America | 23 / 23 on board | Turning onto final, the aircraft pitched up, rolled left to vertical and dived into the ground. Worn splines in the left propeller control unit let the blades move below flight idle; the NTSB faulted the unit's design and its FAA approval.Type: Engine failureASN record | |
| Air France, opb Air LittoralEMB-120RT Brasilia · 5,1 km NE of Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport (BOD), France | 16 / 16 on board | In low cloud, the crew rejoined the ILS late and the aircraft sank below the glide slope while the captain took over control; it hit trees short of the runway. The investigation blamed poor flight-path management and weak crew coordination.Type: Flight into terrainASN 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| African Express AirwaysEMB-120RT Brasilia · near Bardale Airstrip, Somalia | 6 / 6 on board | Unlawful interference (sabotage, hijacking or shoot-down). Arriving at Bardale from an unusual direction with animals near the runway, the Brasilia went around low over the airfield. Ethiopian troops at the base, taking it for a suicide attack, shot it down with an anti-aircraft gun.Type: SecurityASN record | |
| GuicangoEMB-120ER Brasilia · 119 km SW of Dundo, Angola | 7 / 7 on board | Not a scheduled passenger flight. Turning back to Dundo after flying through bad weather at FL200, the medevac crew reported a right engine failure, then an engine fire and loss of hydraulics as they descended fast. The wreck was found two days later; human and operational factors were blamed.Type: Engine failureASN record | |
| Força Aérea Nacional Angolana - FANAEMB-120ER Brasilia · Huambo Airport (NOV), Angola | 17 / 23 on board | Military operation. Angolan Air Force flight that crashed during takeoff from Huambo, breaking in two and catching fire. Army officers, among them three generals, were among the dead; six people survived. No cause is given.Type: Unknown causeASN record | |
| AirnorthEMB-120ER Brasilia · Darwin Airport, NT (DRW), Australia | 2 / 2 on board | Training flight. Training flight to renew the captain's instrument rating. Just after liftoff the check pilot simulated a left engine failure in a way that also disabled the propeller autofeather, at too low a speed; the aircraft rolled left, dived and hit the ground.Type: Loss of control in flightASN record | |
| Ibertrans Aérea IBT1278EMB-120RT Brasilia · 2 km SE of Zaldívar, Spain | 3 / 3 on board | Cargo flight. Cargo flight that hit Monte Santa Marina on the approach to Bilbao. Investigators found the crew were so absorbed by a suspected autopilot problem that they missed the growing descent rate and did not follow standard procedures, despite GPWS alerts.Type: Flight into terrainASN record | |
| Capital Táxi AéreoEMB-120RT Brasilia · ca 2 km from Fortaleza-Pinto Martins Airport, CE (FOR), Brazil | 3 / 3 on board | Cargo flight. Cargo flight carrying medicines that flew a rushed, fast visual approach to Fortaleza; the power levers were pulled below flight idle and the aircraft rolled out of control, crashing through rooftops and killing a woman in a house.Type: Loss of control in flightASN record | |
| Força Aérea Brasileira - FABVC-97 Brasilia (EMB-120RT) · São José dos Campos Airport, SP (SJK), Brazil | 5 / 9 on board | Military operation. The air force EMB-120 crashed while landing at São José dos Campos; five of the nine on board died. No cause is recorded.Type: Unknown causeASN record | |
| Delta Connection, opb Atlantic Southeast Airlines - ASAEMB-120RT Brasilia · near Mantiqueira, SP, Brazil | 5 / 5 on board | Ferry flight without passengers. Being delivered from the Embraer factory to its US airline, the EMB-120 did not follow a clearance to climb and stayed at 5,000 feet in cloud until it hit the Mantiqueira mountains. Investigators cited poor planning, missed instructions and weak coordination between controllers.Type: Flight into terrainASN record |
The Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia is a fast, rugged 30-seat turboprop whose record was shaped by its busy years in US commuter flying. Up to 7 October 2026 it has 8 fatal passenger accidents in about 4.6 million flights, none since 2013. Some of the early ones exposed real weaknesses in propellers and in flying through ice; those were investigated and addressed. The later ones are about crews, weather and operators.
What the Brasilia is
Brazil's Embraer flew the EMB 120 in 1983 and delivered it from 1985. It has a low wing, a T-tail, two Pratt & Whitney Canada turboprops with four-blade propellers, and a pressurised cabin for 30 passengers. The main versions are the original EMB 120RT and the EMB 120ER with more range. Embraer built 354 before its jets, the ERJ family, took over.
Where you might fly on one
In the late 1980s and 1990s the Brasilia was everywhere in the US, flying for Delta Connection carriers such as Atlantic Southeast Airlines and Comair, for Continental Express and for United Express. In Europe, Air Littoral flew it for Air France. Rico Linhas Aéreas used it in the Brazilian Amazon. Today about 30 remain in service, many converted into freighters. Passenger flights on a Brasilia are now rare and mostly in Africa, on charters and with small airlines.
The crashes that changed the aircraft
Four US accidents in the 1990s pointed at the aircraft or how it was maintained:
- 5 April 1991, ASA flight 2311, Brunswick, Georgia: worn splines in the left propeller control unit let the blades go below the flight range on approach, and the aircraft rolled over. All 23 died.
- 11 September 1991, Continental Express flight 2574, Eagle Lake, Texas: mechanics had removed 47 screws from the left tailplane leading edge overnight and not replaced them. It tore off in flight. All 14 died.
- 21 August 1995, ASA flight 529, Carrollton, Georgia: a propeller blade broke off from a fatigue crack that started at corrosion pits the propeller maker's repair shop had missed. 8 of 29 died.
- 9 January 1997, Comair flight 3272, Monroe, Michigan: thin, rough ice on the wings at low speed led to a roll and loss of control. All 29 died.
In each case the NTSB put much of the blame on the propeller maker, the airline's maintenance or the FAA's rules rather than the pilots. The responses included fleet-wide propeller inspections and new procedures for flying in ice. No later fatal accident in our data was traced to the same faults, although the 2013 Lagos crash also involved a propeller control problem whose cause was never found.
The other fatal accidents
The other four were crew and environment cases: Air France flight 1919, flown by Air Littoral, descended below the glide path at Bordeaux in 1987 (all 16 died); Rico crashed approaching Rio Branco in a rainstorm in 2002 (23 of 31) and Manaus in 2004 (all 33); and on 3 October 2013 an Associated Aviation charter crashed on take-off from Lagos (16 of 20). Nigeria's investigators blamed an undetermined propeller control fault, but also a crew that continued the take-off despite warnings, a poor company culture and weak oversight. Eight more fatal crashes do not count under our methodology: cargo, ferry, training, military and other non-passenger flights, including a 2020 cargo flight in Somalia classed as unlawful interference.
Airframe or operating environment?
The Brasilia had genuine design and maintenance lessons, but they came early and were acted on. Since then, its fatal passenger accidents have happened in rain over the Amazon and on a charter out of Lagos, with small operators flying older aircraft under thin oversight. Compare it with the similar Saab 340 and the Dash 8.
How to tell if you are on one
Flight trackers show the ICAO code E120. The Brasilia has a low wing, a T-tail and a narrow cabin with one seat on one side of the aisle and two on the other. If you are offered one on a charter, ask who maintains it and whether the operator holds a full air operator certificate.
Questions people ask
Is the Embraer Brasilia safe to fly on today?
The design problems behind its worst US crashes, a propeller control fault, propeller blade cracks and handling in light icing, were investigated and addressed in the 1990s. What matters now is who flies it. Most of the roughly 30 still in service are freighters or fly with small operators in Africa and South America, where oversight varies.
Why did so many Brasilias crash in the 1990s?
There were a lot of them: the Brasilia was one of the main commuter aircraft in the US, flown many times a day by Delta Connection and Continental Express carriers. Four US crashes between 1991 and 1997 had different causes: a worn propeller control part, a maintenance error on the tail, a cracked propeller blade and ice on the wings.
What happened on Comair flight 3272?
On 9 January 1997, a Comair Brasilia flying as Delta Connection from Cincinnati to Detroit rolled over and crashed near Monroe, Michigan. All 29 people on board died. The NTSB found a thin, rough layer of ice on the wings and blamed the FAA's certification standards for icing and the lack of clear minimum speeds for flying in ice.
Does the Brasilia have a flight attendant?
Yes. With 30 seats it needs one cabin attendant. The cabin has one seat on one side of the aisle and two on the other.
Sources
- 1.ASN record: Atlantic Southeast Airlines flight 2311, Brunswick, 5 April 1991 (opens in a new tab) · Aviation Safety Network
- 2.ASN record: Continental Express flight 2574, Eagle Lake, 11 September 1991 (opens in a new tab) · Aviation Safety Network
- 3.ASN record: Atlantic Southeast Airlines flight 529, Carrollton, 21 August 1995 (opens in a new tab) · Aviation Safety Network
- 4.ASN record: Comair flight 3272, Monroe, 9 January 1997 (opens in a new tab) · Aviation Safety Network
- 5.ASN record: Associated Aviation EMB-120, Lagos, 3 October 2013 (opens in a new tab) · Aviation Safety Network
- 6.SafetyScorer exposure model: OpenSky Network flights 2019-2022, World Bank departures, fleet model (opens in a new tab)Passenger departures 1985 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 22 years, about 645 departures per aircraft per year, calibrated on OpenSky 2022). Uncertainty roughly ±25%.