Robair Robair:
Pilots generally consider the Dash 8 to be the cats pyjamas. It's supposed to be a great plane to fly.
They had to design some funky fairings for the wing gear, it has to extend down so far that it needed the extra aerodynamics so the wind resistance doesn't break the gear. Dunno if that would have anything to do with the recent troubles...
again, some other airline would be having problems too, plus that sort of thing would have been discovererd in testing or soon afterwards. these planes have been around for a while now. only thing that could really be causing problems based on the fact that it is one airline is poor maintinence and/or poor pilotage, meaning the pilots slam the aircraft onto the runway when landing, or leave the gear extended at too high of a velocity.
actually, I wonder what the altitudes at some of these airports are. If they are high up, the approach speeds would have to be much higher than at sea level. this could be a problem if the approach speed is above the "Do Not Extend Landing Gear" velocity (Sorry, I don't know the actual term for that). If thats the source of the problem than the company would be justified in getting rid of it's fleet. otherwise, they should actively search for the problem rather than blame the aircraft.