The de Havilland Canada DHC-7, popularly known as the Dash 7, is a turboprop-powered regional airliner with short take-off and landing (STOL) performance. Variants were built with 50–54 seats. It first flew in 1975 and remained in production until 1988 when the parent company, de Havilland Canada, was purchased by Boeing in 1986 and later sold to Bombardier. In 2006 Bombardier sold the type certificate for the aircraft design to Viking Air, which was later reorganized as De Havilland Canada.

Design and development

In the 1960s, de Havilland Canada was already well known worldwide for their series of high-performance STOL aircraft, notably the very popular DHC-2 Beaver and DHC-6 Twin Otter. However, these aircraft were generally fairly small and served outlying routes, as opposed to the busier regional airliner routes which were already well served by larger, higher-performance turboprop aircraft such as the Fokker F27, Fairchild F-27, Convair 580, Convair 600 and Hawker Siddeley 748.

The de Havilland Canada company personnel felt they could compete with these designs in a roundabout way. With their excellent STOL performance, their designs could fly into smaller airports located in city centres and smaller, outlying, more austere airports having runways that the other aircraft could not easily use (unpaved, unimproved). The original specification called for an aircraft that could carry 40 passengers and operating from runways only , and designed for, with a full load of passengers, the ability to fly 700 nautical miles (1296km),

With new noise restrictions coming into effect throughout the 1970s,

Kapalua Airport on the island of Maui, Hawaii was built by Hawaiian Airlines with a 3000-foot runway, specifically for Dash 7 operations. Scheduled passenger flights with new Dash 7 turboprops began on March 1, 1987. In 1993, this private airport was acquired by the state of Hawaii.

One hundred Dash 7 turboprops were delivered by 1984, when the production line was put on hold in favour of the Dash 8. Another 13 were delivered between 1984 and 1988, when the production lines were removed when Boeing bought the company. The last Dash 7 was bought by Tyrolean Airways.

The original Series 100 represents the vast majority of the aircraft delivered, and came in two models; the DHC-7-102 passenger version and -103 combi with an enlarged cargo door. These were followed by the Series 110 which met British CAA requirements, including the -110 and -111, and finally the Series 150 which included additional fuel capacity and an improved interior in the -150 and -151. Plans were made for a Series 200 with the new PT6A-50/7 engines which improved hot-and-high power, but these plans were shelved when Boeing ended production of the design.

The mixture of features on the Dash 7 met with limited commercial success. Most commuter airline turboprop operators used the aircraft as feeder liners into large airports, where the STOL performance was not considered important. In comparison to other feeder liners, the Dash 7's four engines required twice the maintenance of a twin-engine model, thereby driving up operational costs. Finally, those airports that did require a high-performance STOL operation were generally small and well served by the Twin Otters; had an airport needed a larger plane to serve its customer base, they would have built a longer runway. One exception to this was operations at London City Airport, which upon opening in 1987, was capable of handling few other aircraft types besides the Dash 7 due to its relatively short runway and steep approach. The runway at London City was subsequently lengthened, and the approach angle reduced somewhat and since accepts airliners such as the Airbus A220, Airbus A318, British Aerospace BAe 146 and Embraer 190 types. Noise criteria remain strict in comparison with other international airports.

The Dash 7 also gained a number of military orders. The first of these was for two aircraft for the Canadian Armed Forces, which needed them to transport high-ranking passengers and freight around Europe. These aircraft received the CF designation CC-132 and were delivered to 412 Transport Squadron at Canadian Forces Base Lahr, in West Germany.

The United States Army operates several Dash 7 aircraft as surveillance platforms with the designation EO-5C (RC-7B before 2004) under the Airborne Reconnaissance Low program.

Transport Canada operates a single DHC-7-150IR aircraft to conduct maritime surveillance, pollution monitoring, and ice patrols as part of the Transport Canada National Aerial Surveillance Program. The aircraft's home base is Ottawa. During the summer, this aircraft conducts patrols throughout the Canadian Arctic, Alaska, and Greenland. During the fall and winter, this aircraft conducts patrols of the Great Lakes and east or west coasts of Canada as required.

The design of a much more conventional twin-engine design commenced at de Havilland in 1978, resulting in the extremely popular Dash 8. The DHC-7 production line eventually delivered 114, of which six have been lost and one scrapped. Many of the rest remain in service.

The American band Wilco released a song called "Dash 7" on their 1995 album A.M.

Variants

thumb|right|Model 103 operated by [[Air Tindi with the forward cargo door open]]

;DHC-7-1

:Prototypes, two built

;DHC-7-100

:Production passenger variant with a maximum of 54 passengers (with takeoff weight)

;DHC-7-101

:Production passenger/cargo variant with a maximum 50 passengers and a left-hand forward cargo door (with takeoff weight)

;

:Production passenger variant with a maximum of 54 passengers (with take-off weight)

;

:Production passenger/cargo variant with a maximum of 50 passengers and a left-hand forward cargo door (with take-off weight)

;DHC-7-110

:DHC-7-102 certified for use in the United Kingdom

;DHC-7-111

:DHC-7-103 certified for use in the United Kingdom

;DHC-7-150

:Improved 1978 version with higher gross weight, increased fuel capacity, and improved passenger amenities

;

:One series 150 modified in 1986 for Transport Canada for ice/pollution patrols of the Canadian Arctic

;CC-132

:Canadian military designation for the Series 102/103

;O-5A ARL-I (Airborne Reconnaissance Low – IMINT)

:Converted by California Microwave Incorporated 1991–92

;EO-5B ARL-C (Airborne Reconnaissance Low – COMINT)

:United States military designation for Series 102

;EO-5C ARL-M (Airborne Reconnaissance Low – Multi-sensor)

:Converted by California Microwave Incorporated 1996

;RC-7B ARL-M (Airborne Reconnaissance Low – Multi-sensor)

:Redesignated EO-5C in 2004

Accidents and incidents

The de Havilland Canada DHC-7 has been involved in six accidents (and 10 incidents overall) with a total of 68 fatalities.

  • May 9, 1982 – an Alyemda DHC-7-103 crashed into sea near Aden International Airport in Yemen, killing 23 of 49 on board.
  • June 23, 1982 – a Henson Airlines DHC-7 was hijacked at Staunton-Shenandoah Valley Airport, in Virginia with no lives lost.
  • February 15, 1983 – Rio Airways Flight 252 DHC-7-102 was hijacked at Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, with none of 20 on board injured.
  • May 6, 1988 – Widerøe Flight 710 DHC-7-102 crashed on a hillside during poor weather near Brønnøysund Airport in Norway, killing 36 on board.
  • November 28, 1998 – a DNK Aviation Leasing Group DHC-7-102 crashed after an engine failed during a test flight near Ashburton, United Kingdom killing the crew of two.
  • July 23, 1999 – a US Army DHC-7-102 (O-5A) crashed into a mountain near Orito in Putumayo province in Colombia, killing all seven on board.
  • September 7, 1999 – a Skyline Nigeria DHC-7-102 was damaged from a belly landing at Port Harcourt Airport with 19 on board (no fatalities).
  • September 4, 2002 – Asian Spirit Flight 897 DHC-7-102 slid off the runway at Manila-Ninoy Aquino International Airport with 49 on board (no fatalities).
  • May 1, 2006 – Trans Capital Air (a Toronto-based charter company) for United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) DHC-7-102 crash-landed at Zwedru Airport in Liberia after its landing gear failed to extend, with 40 on board (37 Ethiopian soldiers) all uninjured.

Operators

Current airlines and other operators

thumb|[[Arkia de Havilland Canada DHC-7 parked at Eilat Airport]]

As of May 2026, a total of 16 Dash 7 aircraft (all variants) remain in service.

;

  • Air Tindi (6)

;

  • Regional Air Services (Tanzania)

;

  • Turkish Airlines

;

  • Brymon
  • London City Airways

;

  • Air Oregon
  • Air Pacific (United States) (commuter airline based in California, acquired by Golden Gate Airlines)
  • Air West (commuter air carrier in Texas not to be confused with Hughes Air West)
  • Air Wisconsin
  • Allegheny Commuter
  • Atlanta Express Airline Corp.
  • Atlantic Southeast Airlines (ASA) (subsequently renamed as ExpressJet)
  • Branson Airways
  • Continental Express (operated by Rocky Mountain Airways in code share service for Continental Airlines)
  • Crown Airways (operated on Allegheny Commuter service)
  • Delta Connection (operated by Atlantic Southeast Airlines (ASA) and Rio Airways in code share services for Delta Air Lines)
  • Era Aviation (operated code share service for Alaska Airlines in Alaska)
  • Golden Gate Airlines
  • Golden West Airlines
  • Gulfstream International Airlines
  • Hawaiian Airlines
  • Henson Airlines (operated code share service for Piedmont Airlines)
  • MarkAir Express (operated code share service for MarkAir in Alaska)
  • Maverick Airways (operated code share service in Colorado for the current version of Frontier Airlines)
  • Pan Am Express (operated by Ransome Airlines for Pan Am via a code sharing agreement)
  • Paradise Island Airlines
  • Ransome Airlines
  • Rio Airways
  • Rocky Mountain Airways – worldwide launch customer
  • Ross Aviation
  • Trans World Express (operated by Ransome Airlines on behalf of TWA via a code sharing agreement)
  • USAir Express

;

  • Conviasa
  • Linea Turistica Aerotuy (1)

;

  • Alyemda

Other civilian operators

thumb|upright=1.4|The [[British Antarctic Survey (BAS) Dash 7 at Stanley on the Falkland Islands.]]

The British Antarctic Survey operates a single Dash 7 in support of its research programme in Antarctica. The aircraft undertakes regular shuttle flights between either Stanley on the Falkland Islands, or Punta Arenas, Chile, and the Rothera Research Station on Adelaide Island. It also operates to and from the ice runway at the Sky Blu conducting coastal pollution and ice patrols across the Canadian Arctic.

Military operators

;

  • Canadian Forces (two delivered 1979 to Canadian Air Mobility Tasking for use at CFB Lahr, flown until 1987 - replaced by DHC-8)

;

  • United States Army (10 – 1 O-5A, 2 EO-5B, 5 RC-7B)

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