Airnorth Brasilia Crashes in Darwin

An Embraer Brasilia operated by Darwin, Australia-based regional airline Airnorth crashed during a training flight this morning at around 10 a.m. local time, killing the two pilots at the controls. The 30-seat turboprop, used in both scheduled and charter passenger service, reportedly crashed soon after takeoff from the RAAF base Darwin, which shares its runway with Darwin International Airport.

Before the crash Airnorth flew a fleet of six Brasilias, two Embraer E170 regional jets and three Fairchild Metroliner turboprops. Opened in 1978, the company operates 156 scheduled weekly departures and carries some 250,000 passengers annually, many under a code-share alliance with Qantas.