The 'ATR 72' is a twin-
turboprop short-haul regional
airliner built in
France by
ATR. It seats up to 72 passengers in a single-class configuration and is operated by a two-pilot crew.
American Eagle Airlines, the primary
regional airline for
American Airlines and the largest operator of the type, refers to its ATR 72s as 'Super ATRs'.
Development
The ATR 72 was developed from the
ATR 42. ATR stretched the fuselage by 4.5 m (14 ft 9 in), widened the wingspan, added more powerful engines, and increased fuel capacity by approximately 10 percent. The 72 was announced in 1986
[1] and made its maiden flight on
October 27 1988. Exactly one year after that, on
October 27,
1989,
Finnair became the first company to put the plane into service.
[2]
As of January 2007, a total of 323 ATR 72s had been delivered worldwide, with orders pending for 113 more.
[3]
Design
Passengers are boarded using the rear door (which is rare for a passenger plane) as the front door is used to load cargo. Finnair ordered their ATR 72s with front passenger door so they could use the jet bridges at Helsinki-Vantaa airport.
[4]
A tail stand must be installed when passengers are boarding or disembarking to prevent the nose from coming off the ground.
The ATR aircraft does not have an
Auxiliary Power Unit (APU), but it has a propeller brake (referred to as "Hotel Mode") that stops the propeller on the #2 (right) engine, allowing the turbine to run and provide air and power to the aircraft without the propeller spinning. This eliminates the need for the added weight and expense of an APU.
[5] Engines are periodically switched during maintenance to ensure equal wear.
Variants
There have been three main variants of the ATR 72 produced.
ATR 72-200
The -200 was the original production version, powered by
Pratt & Whitney Canada PW124B engines rated at 2400
shp.
[6]
ATR 72-210 (212)
The -210, called the -212 by American Eagle, is a -200 with
PW127 engines producing 2750 shp each for improved performance in hot and high-altitude conditions.
ATR 72-500 (210A/212A)
Originally named the -210A and called the -212A by American Eagle, the -500 is an upgraded version of the -210 using six-bladed propellers on otherwise identical
PW127F engines. Other improvements include higher maximum weights and superior performance, as well as greater automation of power management to ease pilot workload.
Other variants
ATR unveiled a large cargo door modification for all ATR 72 at
Farnborough 2002, coupled with a dedicated cargo conversion.
FedEx,
DHL, and
UPS all operate the type.
[7]
A VIP version of the -500 is available with a luxury interior for executive or corporate transport.
[8]
An
anti-submarine warfare (ASW) variant of the -500 (itself a version of the
maritime patrol variant of the ATR 42-500) is also in production
[9] and has been selected by the
Turkish Navy for ASW and
anti-surface warfare (ASuW) duties. A total of ten aircraft will be delivered to the Turkish Navy by 2010. The aircraft will be armed with anti-surface missiles and torpedoes for ASuW and ASW missions. They will also be equipped with the AMASCOS (Airborne Maritime Situation and Control System) maritime surveillance system of
Thales, as well as
electronic warfare and
reconnaissance systems, and will also be used for maritime
search and rescue operations.
Major operators
★
Aer Arann (9)
★
Aero Airlines (6)
★
Air Deccan (8)
★
Air New Zealand (3)(8 on lease)
[10]
★
Air Dolomiti (8)
★
Airlinair (7)
★
Air Nostrum (7)
★
Alitalia Express (10)
★
American Eagle Airlines (
Executive Air) (39)
★
Arkia (4)
★
Atlantic Southeast Airlines (12)
★
Aurigny
★
Bangkok Airways (9)
★
Binter Canarias (13)
★
Czech Airlines (4)
★
Eurolot (8)
★
FedEx Express (13)
★
Finncomm Airlines (4)
★
Jat Airways (5)
★
Jet Airways (8)
★
Hansung Airlines (2)
★
Kingfisher Airlines (10)
★
Mount Cook Airline (11)
★
Olympic Airlines (7)
★
Total Linhas Aéreas (2)
★
TransAsia Airways (10)
★
TRIP Linhas Aéreas (2)
★
TACV Cabo Verde Airlines (6)
★
Vietnam Airlines (10)
Some 47 other airlines also operate the type in smaller numbers.
Major firm orders include:
★
Aer Arann (10)
★
Air Deccan (27)
★
Cebu Pacific Air (6, with options for another 8 aircraft)
[11]
★
Finncomm Airlines (7)
★
Kingfisher Airlines (31)
★
Berjaya Air (4)
★
Malaysia Airlines Firefly (10, with options for another 10 aircraft)
★
Total Linhas Aéreas (4)
★
TRIP Linhas Aéreas (7, with options for 5 more)
Accidents and incidents
★
American Eagle Flight 4184 crashed due to icing on
October 31,
1994 in
Roselawn, Indiana. The accident had a significant effect on procedures for dealing with in-flight icing as well as American Eagle's utilization of turboprop aircraft in specific geographical areas.
★
American Eagle Flight 5401 crashed on landing in
San Juan,
Puerto Rico during a failed go-around attempt on
May 9,
2004. Seventeen people were injured, but there were no fatalities.
★ On
August 6,
2005, a
Tuninter ATR 72 en route from
Bari, Italy, to
Djerba,
Tunisia, ditched into the
Mediterranean Sea about 18 miles from the city of
Palermo. Sixteen of the 39 people on board died. The accident resulted from engine fuel starvation due to the installation of ATR 42 fuel quantity indicators in the ATR 72.
Specifications (72-500)
Specifications
| Measurement | ATR 72 |
|---|
| Accommodation | 62-74 |
|---|
| Range at max pax load | 930 nm (ATR 72-200)
820 nm (ATR 72-210) |
|---|
| Wingspan | 27.1 m |
|---|
| Length | 27.2 m |
|---|
| Height | 7.7 m |
|---|
| Maximum Take-Off Weight | 22,500 kg (ATR 72-2XX) |
|---|
| Powerplant | Pratt & Whitney Canada
2 x PW124 @ 2160 SHP (ATR 72-200)
2 x PW127 @ 2475 SHP (ATR 72-210) |
|---|
References
1. Detailed Milestones
2. ATR Profile
3. Worldwide presence
4. http://www.airliners.net/open.file/0290349/M/
5. http://www.atraircraft.com/downl/ATR%2042-72%20The%20Regional%20Way%202005.pdf
6. ATR 72-200
7. ATR Cargo Solutions
8. ATR VIP
9. ASW variant
10. [1]AirNZ
11. Cebu Pacific orders up to 14 brand new ATR72-500 aircraft
External links
★
Official site
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