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50 passengers . This aircraft — the 13th Saab 2000 to roll off the production line — first flew in February 1995 and went to Deutsche BA the next month as D-ADSA . Over 19 years , it operated for eight different airlines before landing with Loganair .
Two more Saab 2000s joined Loganair ’ s fleet in 2014 , with the final two arriving in 2015 and 2016 . Despite being part of the Saab family , the 2000 differed from the 340 in just about every regard , especially the cockpit . It was far more technologically advanced .
Even though 2014 was a strong year for Loganair , disaster struck twice , just weeks apart . On December 15 , 2014 , Loganair Flight 6780 , Aberdeen to Sumburgh , nearly crashed into the Atlantic Ocean . The Saab 2000 was struck by lightning , leading to Pilot error and neardisaster . A computer glitch saved the plane with seconds to spare .
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The incident featured in the TV series Air Crash Investigation / Mayday , Season 21 .
Just weeks later , on the January 2 , 2015 , Flight 6821 , Glasgow to Stornoway , overran the runway on landing in high winds . The aircraft , Saab 340 G-LGNL , suffered significant damage , the landing gear having collapsed , and was written off . Both incidents generated some bad press for Loganair , and the age of its fleet began to come into question , many of its Saabs being well over 20 years old .
BYE , BYE , FLYBE
To counter the negative press , Loganair began a cabin retrofit program , introducing slimline seats across its Saab 340 fleet . Flybe had brought out a bold new purple livery and wanted Loganair to swiftly follow suit . But the franchise agreement was beginning to fall apart and , in November 2016 , at the 11th hour ,
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6 G-LGNJ cabin during a farewell flight , with snap happy aviation enthusiasts .
7 Departing Runway 23 at Glasgow , full throttle
8 Loganair Saab 340 farewell celebrations Goodie Bag
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As the franchise agreement was expiring , some Saabs were still wearing Flybe colors , others basic Loganair tartan tails , and others still were all white . On September 1 , 2017 , Loganair waved good-bye to Flybe and hello to independence . It sent off its inaugural flight with its first Saab 340 G-LGNA LM422 , from Glasgow to Islay with plenty of media attention to highlight the occasion .
At the time Loganair ha taken a big risk by going solo , but the decision would pay off . Flybe entered into a franchise agreement with Eastern Airways , which lasted a mere six months . Not even two years later , in March 2020 , Flybe went under . But Loganair continues to thrive , operating some of its most profitable routes in 2024 .
FLEET SIMPLIFICATION
With Loganair independent once more , the Saab fleet came into question again . Loganair ’ s sister carrier BMI Regional folded in February 2019 , and
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