The ATR 72 is a twin-engine passenger aircraft.
It comes from the French-Italian production of the manufacturer Avions de Transport Régional, ATR for short.
Since her debut in 1988, she can now be found all over the world.
The plane, a turboprop passenger plane, is slower than a jet, but uses less fuel.
And it requires significantly less take-off and landing distance.
That is why it is used in countries like Nepal, where the infrastructure for aircraft is often poor.
ATR has different models: a smaller ATR 42 with 48 seats, as well as the stretched version ATR 72 for up to 78 passengers, as was involved in the accident in Nepal.
Even if turboprop passenger planes are seen by some as old-fashioned compared to jets, their lower kerosene consumption and reduced CO₂ emissions speak for their use.
The ATR 72 has a wingspan of 27 meters.
She is powered by two Pratt & Whitney PW127 propeller turbines, each producing around 2800 hp.
The machine has a range of around 1300 kilometers, which is why it is used for short trips.
In the ATR 72, the most modern anti-collision or ground proximity warning systems are available for the cockpit crew, comparable to an Airbus or a Boeing.
The Franco-Italian company ATR with production facilities in Blagnac near Toulouse and in Naples was founded in 1981 as a joint venture.
Today it is owned equally by the European Airbus Group and the Italian aerospace company Leonardo.
More than 1100 aircraft of the ATR 72 have already been delivered, most of them as passenger variants.