The plane, a Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 74-seat turboprop, was brand new, having been delivered in 2008.
Bombardier Dash 8, a series of twin-engined, medium range, turboprop airliners
As of March 2008, QantasLink was scheduled to operate about 38 return services per week (i.e. about 76 aircraft movements) between Gladstone and Brisbane using Dash 8 aircraft with seating from 50 to 74 passengers.
As the airport has a small apron (7,800 square meters) and a short runway, only Bombardier Dash 8 sized aircraft or smaller ones are able to use the airport.
The airport averages 65 QantasLink flights each week, most of these are Dash-8 Q400 aircraft.
The Dash 8 300 series was purchased by the airway specifically for the transportation of personal from Thunder Bay to the mine.
The commencement of Skytrans Dash-8 services on the Western Route via Toowoomba has assisted to demonstrate the effectiveness of regional turbo-prop aircraft operating directly in Toowoomba with a low noise footprint.
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On 21 November 1990, a Bangkok Airways Bombardier Dash 8 crashed while attempting to land in heavy rain and high winds.
Over the next 20 years Time Air's fleet progressed from the 20-passenger de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter, to the 30-passenger Short 330 and 36-passenger Short 360 (both known as the "Flying Boxcar" for their boxy shape) and then to the de Havilland Canada DHC-7 Dash 7 before standardising with the Bombardier DHC-8 Dash 8.