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The 'Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia' is a twin-turboprop commuter airliner, produced by Embraer.

Contents

Design and development

Operational history

Variants

Operators

Civil operators

Military Operators

General characteristics (EMB 120ER)

Accidents

References

Related content

Design and development

It first flew on 27 July 1983, and entered commercial service in October 1985. Since 1994, manufacture has focused exclusively on the 'EMB 120ER', with extended range (1,575 km) and increased capacity.

Operational history

Most of the EMB 120's were sold in the US and the Western Hemisphere although some have been purchased by airlines such as Régional in France, DAT in Belgium, DLT in Germany. Although no aircraft have been produced since 2002, it is still available to order because it is made on the same assembly line as the ERJs and is made out of many of the same parts. The extinction of commercial turboprops during the late 1990s and the first few years of the current decade was caused by an influx of regional jets. The EMB 120 was a victim of this as well. Only the ability to be built on a regional jet line has saved it from following out-of-production aircraft like the Do 328, Saab 340 and others. As the aircraft is still officially "in production," it is possible that the recent resurgence of turboprops may result in additional orders for the Brasilia.
The EMB 120 Brasilia is Embraer's only currently-produced aircraft that is a turboprop. Skywest Airlines currently operates a large fleet of EMB 120s under the United Express and Delta Connection brand. It is available as the EMB 120, 120RT, and 120ER. It uses a similar fuselage to the Embraer Regional Jet family.

Variants

;EMB 120
:Basic production version.
;EMB 120ER
:Extended range and increased capacity version. All EMB-120ER S/Ns may be converted into the model EMB-120FC or into the model EMB-120QC. ^[1]
;EMB 120FC
:Full cargo version.
;EMB 120QC
:Quick change cargo version.
;EMB 120RT
:Transport version. All EMB-120RT S/Ns may be converted into the model EMB-120ER. ^[1]
;VC-97
:VIP transport version for the Brazilian Air Force.

Operators

Civil operators

In August 2006 a total of 208 EMB 120 aircraft were in airline service around the world. Major operators include:
;

★ Airnorth (5)

★ Skippers Aviation (6)

★ Network Aviation (6)
;

★ Atlantique Air Assistance (2) ^[3]

★ Régional (compagnie aérienne européenne) (9) ^[4]
;

★ Swiftair (9)
;

★ Ameriflight (7)

★ SkyWest Airlines (68)

★ Great Lakes Aviation (6)

★ Gulfstream International Airlines (7)
Some 41 other airlines also operate the aircraft in smaller numbers.^[5]

Military Operators

;

★ Brazilian Air Force
;

★ Peruvian Air Force
;

★ Uruguayan Air Force

General characteristics (EMB 120ER)

Accidents

★ Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 529, crashed in a field near Carrollton, Georgia on August 21, 1995. Of the 29 people on board, ten were killed. This was due to a mechanical failure.

References

1. Federal Aviation Regulations Type Certificate No. A31SO
2. Federal Aviation Regulations Type Certificate No. A31SO
3.
4.
5. Flight International, 3-9 October 2006

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