Fokker · Regional jet
Fokker 100
Is the Fokker 100 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 5 fatal accidents counted in about 4.1 million passenger flights.
How the score is built
- Fatal passenger accidents
- 5 in 4.1 million flights
1.2 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
- 2
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
- 4.1 million
Estimated passenger departures. Passenger departures 1988 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 23 years, about 639 departures per aircraft per year, calibrated on OpenSky 2019). Uncertainty roughly ±25%.
- Technology generation
- Gen 3 jet (glass cockpit and flight management system)
Small fleets are pulled toward the record of their generation: 0.17 full-loss equivalents per million flights over 419 million flights. Weight of this family's own record: 58%.
- Last fatal passenger accident
- 27 December 2019
Bek Air, near Almaty Airport (ALA), Kazakhstan: 12 of 98 people on board died.
- Hull losses
- 20
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 Fokker 100 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 Fokker 100This aircraft1 in 2.8 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
5 fatal accidents count toward the score, with 192 people on board killed.
| Date | Flight | Killed | What happened |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bek Air100 · near Almaty Airport (ALA), Kazakhstan | 12 / 98 on board | Taking off from Almaty in freezing conditions without the wings de-iced, the aircraft rolled, touched back down, lifted off again and then dropped, sliding through the perimeter fence into a house. Investigators blamed ground icing that reduced lift unevenly.Type: IcingASN record | |
| Air Bagan100 · ca 1 km S of Heho Airport (HEH), Myanmar | 1 / 71 on board | On an NDB approach to Heho in fog, the crew descended below the minimum descent altitude and struck power lines and trees short of the runway; fire followed. One passenger and a motorcyclist on the ground died.Type: Flight into terrainASN record | |
| TAM Linhas Aéreas100 · near Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil | 1 / 88 on board | En route to São Paulo an engine failed uncontained and fragments broke three cabin windows. A passenger was partly pulled out through one; another passenger held on to him until landing, but he died.Type: Engine failureASN record | |
| TAM Transportes Aéreos Regionais100 · 1,5 km S of São Paulo-Congonhas Airport, SP (CGH), Brazil | 95 / 95 on board | Just after takeoff the right engine's thrust reverser deployed uncommanded. Believing it an autothrottle fault, the crew kept forcing the lever forward; the jet rolled right, stalled and crashed into a neighbourhood, also killing four people on the ground.Type: Engine failureASN record | |
| Palair Macedonian Airlines100 · Skopje Airport (SKP), North Macedonia | 83 / 97 on board | Snow was falling and the crew decided against de-icing. Seconds after liftoff the jet rolled violently from side to side, a wingtip hit the ground beyond the runway and it broke up. Investigators found the wings were contaminated with ice.Type: IcingASN 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ivory Coast Government100 · Bouaké Airport (BYK), Cote d'Ivoire | 4 / 75 on board | Unlawful interference (sabotage, hijacking or shoot-down). Attack on the Ivorian Prime Minister's flight. As the jet taxied to the apron at Bouaké it was hit by RPG fire, one round piercing the fuselage. Guillaume Soro survived; at least four people died.Type: SecurityASN record | |
| TAM Transportes Aéreos Regionais100 · near Suzano, SP, Brazil | 1 / 60 on board | Unlawful interference (sabotage, hijacking or shoot-down). Bombing. A bomb went off under a seat in the cabin as the aircraft climbed after leaving São José dos Campos, blowing a large hole in the fuselage and throwing one passenger out. The crew landed safely at São Paulo.Type: SecurityASN record |
The Fokker 100 is a reasonably safe regional jet whose record is weighed down by a few avoidable crashes. Up to 7 October 2026 it has had 7 fatal events, 5 of which count, in about 4.1 million passenger flights. Two of the deadliest were take-offs with ice on the wings, and one was a design fault in a thrust reverser. Today only a few dozen still carry passengers.
What the Fokker 100 is
The Fokker 100 is a stretched, modernised Fokker F28: about 100 seats, a T-tail and two Rolls-Royce Tay engines at the rear. It first flew in 1986, entered service in 1988 and was built until Fokker's bankruptcy in 1996, with 283 delivered. It has a two-pilot glass cockpit and conventional controls. The shorter Fokker 70 shares the design.
Where it still flies
About 40 remain in service. Most passenger flights on one today are in Iran, with Iran Air and other Iranian carriers, which keep the type flying under sanctions. Iran Air has Hull lossAn accident in which an aircraft is destroyed or damaged beyond economic repair. People may or may not be hurt.More in the glossary four Fokker 100s since 1998, all without deaths, and the EU bars its Fokker 100s from European airspace. In Australia, Alliance Airlines and Network Aviation, which flies for Qantas in Western Australia, have used them on mining charters and regional routes, though both are moving to newer jets. American Airlines, US Airways, KLM, Swissair and TAM retired their large fleets years ago.
Ice on the wing
A wing like the Fokker 100's, without leading-edge slats, loses lift quickly with even a thin layer of frost on it. Two crashes show what that means:
- 5 March 1993, Palair Macedonian 301, Skopje: the aircraft took off in moderate snow without de-icing and rolled right just after lift-off. 83 of 97 died. Investigators blamed ice on the wings and a lack of ice awareness among the crew.
- 27 December 2019, Bek Air 2100, Almaty: the tailplane was de-iced, the wings were not, and the aircraft rolled left after lift-off. 12 of 98 died.
Both crews skipped a step that procedures require. The lesson is for operators in cold climates, not a flaw that de-icing cannot manage.
The other counted accidents
- 31 October 1996, TAM 402, São Paulo: a thrust reverser deployed just after take-off. All 95 on board died, plus 4 on the ground. Brazil's investigators named design faults in the reverser system as well as the crew's response. It remains the deadliest Fokker 100 crash.
- 15 September 2001, TAM: an engine failed uncontained in cruise, fragments broke three cabin windows and a passenger was pulled partly out and did not survive. 1 of 88 died.
- 25 December 2012, Air Bagan, Heho, Myanmar: the crew descended below the minimum altitude in fog and hit power lines and trees short of the runway. 1 of 71 on board died, as did a motorcyclist.
Two attacks are excluded: a bomb on a TAM flight near São Paulo in 1997 that killed one passenger, and rocket-propelled grenades fired at the Ivorian prime minister's aircraft at Bouaké in 2007. Our methodology explains why.
How it compares
Per flight, the Fokker 100 is well ahead of its F28 ancestor but behind modern regional jets such as the Embraer E-Jet. The remaining fleet is old and support is thin, so the operator matters a great deal.
How to tell if you are on one
Flight trackers show F100. You will see two engines at the back beside a T-tail and five seats across with one aisle. In winter, watch for de-icing before departure; on this type it is the check that matters most.
Questions people ask
Is the Fokker 100 still in service?
A few dozen are. About 40 of the 283 built still fly, mostly in Iran and on charter and regional routes in Australia. Fokker went bankrupt in 1996, so there is no manufacturer building new parts at scale; support comes from specialist companies and parted-out aircraft.
Why did the Bek Air Fokker 100 crash?
On 27 December 2019, at minus 12 degrees in Almaty, the crew had the tailplane de-iced but not the wings. Frost on the wings cost lift, the aircraft rolled left just after lift-off and hit a building. 12 of the 98 on board died.
What happened on TAM flight 402?
On 31 October 1996 the right engine's thrust reverser opened just after take-off from São Paulo Congonhas. The aircraft rolled, lost speed and crashed into houses, killing all 95 on board and 4 people on the ground. Investigators found faults in the reverser's electrical and mechanical design as well as in the crew's response.
Is the Fokker 100 banned in Europe?
Not as a type. The EU 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 bars Iran Air from flying its Fokker 100s into the EU, which is a decision about that airline's operation, not the aircraft. Fokker 100s from other airlines have flown in Europe for decades.
Sources
- 1.ASN record: Palair Macedonian flight 301, Skopje, 5 March 1993 (opens in a new tab) · Aviation Safety Network
- 2.ASN record: TAM flight 402, São Paulo, 31 October 1996 (opens in a new tab) · Aviation Safety Network
- 3.ASN record: Bek Air flight 2100, Almaty, 27 December 2019 (opens in a new tab) · Aviation Safety Network
- 4.ASN record: Air Bagan Fokker 100, Heho, 25 December 2012 (opens in a new tab) · Aviation Safety Network
- 5.ASN record: TAM Fokker 100 uncontained engine failure, near Belo Horizonte, 15 September 2001 (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 1988 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 23 years, about 639 departures per aircraft per year, calibrated on OpenSky 2019). Uncertainty roughly ±25%.