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From a technical point of view, it is not possible to know by this time if the incident that occured in Copenhagen yesterday is related to the incidents involving other Dash 8 Q400 in the previous weeks. However, as in many industries, air transport is not always driven by technical and economical factors. The average passenger can not acquire an objective view how safe is a given airplane, or a given company.

The concept of “perceived safety” takes all its importance here. The opinion of passengers is mainly driven by what they see in media, and in this domain it is always easier to be the first to speak ! The principle is quite simple:

• Speak first - You’ll establish the truth
• Speak second - You’ll look like defendant, thus guilty
• Don’t speak - You’ll look like you have something to hide

So the only viable option is to speak first. In this particular case, SAS did so, and decided to definetly stop operating Dash 8 Q400 (SAS press release). This press release is all about confidence, and customers becoming doubtful, risk that the Q400 could damage SAS reputations, and so on.

Bombardier was then forced to replay via the press release I copied below (no link, thank you Mr. Bombardier’s webmaster…). It is about statistics, and disapointment about SAS decision, and also insists that the landing gear design is safe, and so on.

So apparently SAS prefers disturb its operation, and invest in new planes, instead of waiting for an investigation report before taking final decision on the Q400. Please don’t missunderstand me, I’m not saying they should wait. In terms of managing their reputation, and building public opinion via the media, it is the right thing to do. Sorry for Bombardier.

If technical and economical factors were driving the world, most of you would not be using PCs… however, air transport is not always driven by technical and economical factors…

Bombardier’s Press Release

“Bombardier Statement Regarding The Sas Decision On Its Q400 Aircraft Fleet

Toronto, October 28, 2007

Bombardier is disappointed with the SAS decision to permanently discontinue flight operations with the Bombardier Q400 aircraft given that the landing incident is still under investigation by Danish authorities.

While SAS chose to ground its Q400 turboprop fleet following the incident on October 27, 2007, Bombardier’s assessment of this situation, in consultation with Transport Canada, did not identify a systemic landing gear issue. Based on this we advised all Q400 aircraft operators that they should continue with normal Q400 aircraft flight operations. Further, Bombardier and the landing gear manufacturer, Goodrich, have completed a full review of the Q400 turboprop landing gear system and results have confirmed its safe design and operational integrity.

Bombardier stands behind the Q400 aircraft. Since entering revenue service in February 2000, the Q400 turboprop has proven itself to be a safe and reliable aircraft with over 150 Q400 aircraft in operation among 22 operators around the world. To date, the fleet of Q400 aircraft has logged over one million flying hours and 1.2 million take-off and landing cycles. “