Dash 8-400 (Q400) safety record
The Dash 8-400 has had three fatal events since it entered service. Here is what happened in each, and what changed afterwards.
Three fatal accidents for the Q400
The Dash 8-400 has had three fatal events: Colgan Air 3407 near Buffalo in 2009, US-Bangla 211 at Kathmandu in 2018, and a 2018 flight in Seattle by a ground worker who took an empty aircraft without authorisation. The Colgan investigation found the crew mishandled a stall warning; it led the United States to raise the experience and training required of airline pilots. Nepal's investigators found the US-Bangla crew became disoriented and lost track of the aircraft's position on the approach. The Seattle flight led to tighter controls on who can get onto an aircraft at an airport.
Across the older Dash 8 versions and the Q400 together, the published accident record lists nine events with deaths on board since the type entered service.
The Q400 in numbers
Why a turboprop feels bumpier
A turboprop is smaller and lighter than a jet and flies lower, typically well below the jets, on short routes. Lower is where most of the weather is, and a lighter aircraft moves more with each gust — so the same trip feels bumpier than it would on a large jet.
That's what you feel, not what the aircraft is going through. Its high, straight wing flexes to absorb gusts like any airliner's, and it is built and certified to the same strength standards as the jets.
Four across, no middle seat
Two seats, an aisle, two seats: every economy passenger has a window or an aisle. The cabin is narrower than a jet's, so the seats are closer to the wall and to the aisle.
Because the wing sits on top of the fuselage, nothing blocks the view down from any window seat — except in the rows beside the propellers, where you're looking at the engine.
How big it really is
The Dash 8-400 is one of the largest turboprop airliners flying, and still one of the smallest aircraft on this page: shorter than an A320 or a 737, with a wing mounted on top of the fuselage.
Tap any other airliner to lay it over the Dash 8 at exactly the same scale.
The Q400 in white, the 777 outlined in gold. Same scale, same metre.
Dash 8-400 questions
How safe is the Q400?
The Dash 8-400 has had three fatal events since it entered service. Every figure on this page is sourced — the list is at the bottom.
Are turboprops safe?
Yes. Turboprop airliners are certified to the same standards as jets, flown by pilots trained to the same rules, and maintained under the same regulated programmes. A turboprop engine is a jet turbine that drives a propeller, and it is a very reliable engine design.
Why is it called the Q400?
The Dash 8 was designed by de Havilland Canada; Bombardier, which owned the programme from 1992 to 2019, named the 400 the Q400 — Q for quiet — after its active noise and vibration suppression system. It uses the cabin structure itself to cancel much of the propeller's hum.
Why do propeller planes feel bumpier?
They are lighter and fly lower, where there is more weather, so they move more with each gust. The bumps are more noticeable to you; they are not a greater load on the aircraft than it was built to take.
Every other airliner
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page is from the manufacturer, the certifying authority or the published accident record.
- lot.com Wingspan, Length, Cabin width
- De Havilland Typical seats, Range, Delivered
- flyporter.com Economy
- EASA type certificate data sheet Engines
- De Havilland Still being built
- De Havilland First flight
- Wikipedia In service since
- Aviation Safety Network Accident record
- De Havilland Accident record
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