Turboprop aircraft:

There were several good years of airline safety, but current turboprop aircraft accidents like that of Continental Connection Dash 8 flight 3407 in Buffalo, NY have placed a spot light once again on the protection record of turboprop aircraft. Usually, after an incident or accident there is usually a stage where you see an increase in concern with people who have a fear of flying including turboprop aircraft. The news media does not help when they give over astounding news coverage about a turboprop aircraft accident. Turboprop aircraft technology is old and has been around since the jet age.

Turboprop aircraft use engines that are gas turbine to drive a propeller. These are faintly different from other propeller airplanes because the mechanism of the turboprop aircraft engines is the same as a jet engine. In fact, if you look up the meaning of the words turbo & turbine you will notice that they are defined almost the same. Even some of the engine instruments in turboprop aircraft cockpits are alike to that of jet airplanes. The only big difference between jet & turboprop aircraft are jets have swept wings to reduce drag because of the increase speeds jet flies at. Turboprop aircraft have a lot more drag because of the propellers and the wings are typically more rectangular shape and tapered. Turboprop aircraft are much slower then jets with an average speed of 250 to 300 knots.

One of the reasons why turboprop aircraft are admired with some airlines is that they are cheaper to function because they burn less fuel. With the record high fuel prices we seen in the past, many airlines decided to get rid of their regional jets, and replace them with some turboprop aircraft. This is one major factor about turboprop aircraft that help many people.