The Trouble With Turboprops

摘要

Shortly after the Colgan crash in mid-February, former NTSB chairman Jim Hall boldly called for the grounding of high-wing turboprops such as the Bombardier Dash-8 Q400 until the safety agency could determine whether icing was involved. Although Hall's view wasn't taken seriously, it's easy to understand where it came from. The NTSB has kicked tin on no fewer than four commuter turboprop accidents in which icing was implicated. The total body count amounts to 103 over a 20-year span, with the loss of four airline aircraft, not counting the Buffalo crash.