After grounding its fleet of Q400 turboprops Airline group SAS is seeking US$77 million in compensation from Montreal-based Bombardier.  It all started last month when a state of the art Q-400 turboprop crashed on landing in Aalborg, Denmark.  All passengers escaped after the aircraft caught on fire after a crash landing. Three days latter the gear failed to extend on a SAS Q-400 leading to an emergency landing.

Days latter Bombardier along with landing gear manufacturer Goodrich Corp. issued a Directive grounding all Q-400’s that had taken off and landed more than 10,000 times.

"The incidents were caused by flaws in components not included in the maintenance manual. This is why we feel the responsibility lies with Bombardier,'' SAS spokesman Hans Ollongren said.

After inspecting the fleets landing gear and reviewing maintenance procedures SAS started flying the turboprops again this week.