Embraer · Regional jet
Embraer E-Jet (E1 and E2)
Is the Embraer E-Jet (E1 and E2) 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 1 fatal accident counted in about 29 million passenger flights.
How the score is built
- Fatal passenger accidents
- 1 in 28.7 million flights
0.035 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
- 0.46
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
- 28.7 million
Estimated passenger departures. Passenger departures 2004 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 few retirements so far, about 1,320 departures per aircraft per year, calibrated on OpenSky 2019). Uncertainty roughly ±25%.
- Technology generation
- Gen 4 jet (fly-by-wire with flight envelope protection)
Small fleets are pulled toward the record of their generation: 0.041 full-loss equivalents per million flights over 328 million flights. Weight of this family's own record: 91%.
- Last fatal passenger accident
- 24 August 2010
Henan Airlines flight VD8387, 0,9 km E of Yichun Lindu Airport (LDS), China: 44 of 96 people on board died.
- Hull losses
- 14
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 E-Jet (E1 and E2) carries about the same risk of death as the activities near it below.
- One flight on the Embraer E-Jet (E1 and E2)This aircraft1 in 54 million
- 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
- 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
1 fatal accident counts toward the score, with 44 people on board killed.
| Date | Flight | Killed | What happened |
|---|---|---|---|
| Henan Airlines VD8387ERJ 190-100 LR (ERJ-190LR) · 0,9 km E of Yichun Lindu Airport (LDS), China | 44 / 96 on board | On the captain's first flight into Yichun, the crew began an approach although visibility was below minimums, then kept descending into fog without seeing the runway and ignored the altitude callouts. The jet hit the ground about 870 m short and burned.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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Azerbaijan Airlines J28243ERJ-190AR · 5 km NW of Aktau Airport (SCO/UATE), Kazakhstan | 38 / 67 on board | Unlawful interference (sabotage, hijacking or shoot-down). Its GPS jammed, the flight to Grozny gave up two approaches in fog during a Ukrainian drone raid. It then struggled across the Caspian with damaged controls and crashed near Aktau. Shrapnel holes in the tail point to Russian air defence fire; Putin apologised.Type: SecurityASN record | |
| Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique - LAM TM470ERJ 190-100 IGW (ERJ-190AR) · Bwabwata National Park, Namibia | 33 / 33 on board | Deliberate act by a crew member. While the co-pilot was out of the cockpit, the captain deliberately put the E190 into a descent and it crashed in Namibia; all 33 people on board died.Type: SecurityASN record | |
| Tianjin AirlinesERJ 190-100 LR (ERJ-190LR) · Hotan Airport (HTN), China | 2 / 101 on board | Unlawful interference (sabotage, hijacking or shoot-down). Hijacking attempt. Six passengers tried to seize the flight to Urumqi shortly after it left Hotan; passengers and crew overpowered them and the jet went back to Hotan. Two of the hijackers later died in hospital of injuries from the struggle.Type: SecurityASN record |
The Embraer E-Jet is one of the safest regional aircraft flying. In more than 20 years and about 29 million passenger flights, only one fatal crash counts against it in our method. The three other fatal events were a pilot's deliberate act, a hijacking and a shoot-down, none of them a fault of the aircraft.
Where you fly on an E-Jet
Embraer's 70- to 120-seat family first flew in 2002 and entered service in 2004. About 1,800 have been built and around 1,550 are still in service. You are most likely to board one in the United States, where the E175 is the workhorse of the big three airlines' regional networks: SkyWest, Republic and Envoy fly it as United Express, Delta Connection and American Eagle. Union contracts at the major carriers cap regional jets at 76 seats, and the E175 fits that limit.
In Europe the E190 and E195 fly with KLM Cityhopper, Helvetic and BA CityFlyer, among others. In Brazil, Azul is a big operator. The newer E2 version (E190-E2 and E195-E2) flies with Widerøe in Norway, Porter in Canada, Azul and KLM Cityhopper.
What the design does for safety
The E-Jet was a clean-sheet design of the late 1990s, not a stretched older type. It has Fly-by-wireA flight control system in which the pilot's inputs go to computers, which then move the control surfaces. Many such systems also stop unsafe manoeuvres.More in the glossary flight controls and a modern glass cockpit, and we group it with fourth-generation jets like the A320 and 787 in our methodology. The E2 adds closed-loop fly-by-wire, new wings and geared turbofan engines.
The fatal record
Four events killed people on board up to 7 October 2026:
- 24 August 2010, Henan Airlines 8387, Yichun, China: the E190 crashed short of the runway while landing at night in fog. 44 of the 96 people on board died. This is the one event that counts toward the score.
- 29 June 2012, Tianjin Airlines, Hotan, China: a hijacking attempt in flight. Passengers and crew overpowered the hijackers, and two of them later died of their injuries; they were the only deaths among the 101 people on board.
- 29 November 2013, LAM Mozambique Airlines 470, Namibia: the investigation found that the captain deliberately flew the aircraft into the ground while the co-pilot was out of the cockpit. All 33 people died.
- 25 December 2024, Azerbaijan Airlines 8243, near Aktau, Kazakhstan: the E190 was damaged on approach to Grozny, and Azerbaijan's government said Russian air-defence fire hit it. It crashed while trying to land at Aktau. 38 of the 67 people on board died.
We leave the last three out of the score because they say little about how the aircraft flies. They still appear in the accident table. In the Aktau crash, 29 people survived the impact of a badly damaged aircraft.
The ERJ 135/145, Embraer's earlier 50-seat jet, is a different aircraft with its own page.
How to tell if you are on one
Flight trackers and booking sites use ICAO type codes. E-Jets show up as E170, E75L or E75S (the E175, long or short wing), E190 and E195. The E2 versions are E290 and E295. In the cabin, the E-Jet has two-by-two seating with no middle seat, which makes it easy to spot.
If your regional flight is on an E175, the type is not a reason to rebook. The operator and the airport matter more than the airframe, and on this family the record supports that view.
Questions people ask
Is the Embraer 175 a safe plane?
Yes. The E175 has no fatal accident in our data up to 7 October 2026. It flies millions of US regional flights for the United, Delta and American networks, under the same FAA rules as their mainline jets.
Has an Embraer E190 ever crashed?
Yes. Four E190 events killed people on board up to October 2026. Only one was an ordinary accident: Henan Airlines 8387 at Yichun, China, in 2010, where 44 of 96 people died. The others were a pilot's deliberate act (LAM 470), a hijacking attempt and the shoot-down of Azerbaijan Airlines 8243.
What is the difference between the E-Jet and the E2?
The E2 (E190-E2 and E195-E2) has new wings, Pratt & Whitney geared turbofan engines and updated Fly-by-wireA flight control system in which the pilot's inputs go to computers, which then move the control surfaces. Many such systems also stop unsafe manoeuvres.More in the glossary controls. It entered service in 2018 with Widerøe and has no fatal accident so far.
Is an Embraer jet safer than a turboprop?
On average, yes. Regional jets like the E-Jet fly mostly between larger airports with long runways and full approach aids. Turboprops more often serve short strips, islands and mountain airports, which is where most of their accidents happen.
Sources
- 1.ASN record: Henan Airlines flight 8387, Yichun, 24 August 2010 (opens in a new tab) · Aviation Safety Network
- 2.ASN record: LAM flight 470, Bwabwata National Park, 29 November 2013 (opens in a new tab) · Aviation Safety Network
- 3.ASN record: Azerbaijan Airlines flight 8243, Aktau, 25 December 2024 (opens in a new tab) · Aviation Safety Network
- 4.SafetyScorer exposure model: OpenSky Network flights 2019-2022, World Bank departures, fleet model (opens in a new tab)Passenger departures 2004 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 few retirements so far, about 1,320 departures per aircraft per year, calibrated on OpenSky 2019). Uncertainty roughly ±25%.