The ATR 72 is a twin-turboprop short-haul regional airliner built in France and Italy by ATR. It seats up to 74 passengers in a single-class configuration and is operated by a two-pilot crew.
The ATR 72 was developed from the ATR 42 by stretching the fuselage by 4.5 m (14 ft 9 in), increasing the wingspan, adding more powerful engines, and increasing fuel capacity by approximately 10 percent. The 72 was announced in 1986,[1] and made its maiden flight on 27 October 1988. Exactly one year after that, on October 27, 1989, Finnair became the first company to put the plane into service.[2]
At least 408 ATR 72s have been delivered worldwide with orders pending on at least 28 more.
Passengers are boarded using the rear door (which is rare for a passenger plane) as the front door is used to load cargo. Finnair ordered their ATR 72s with front passenger door so they could use the jet bridges at Helsinki-Vantaa airport.[3]
A tail stand must be installed when passengers are boarding or disembarking to prevent the nose from coming off the ground.
The ATR aircraft does not have an Auxiliary Power Unit (APU), but it has a propeller brake (referred to as "Hotel Mode") that stops the propeller on the #2 (right) engine, allowing the turbine to run and provide air and power to the aircraft without the propeller spinning. This eliminates the need for the added weight and expense of an APU.[4] Engines are periodically switched during maintenance to ensure equal wear.
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