ATR 42-500

Updated: October 2026 – A small high-wing aircraft with a T-tail taxis to the runway, six-blade propellers turn on the engines, and the livery has seen a few decades of sun: chances are you are looking at an ATR 42-500. It is the version with which ATR thoroughly modernized the small turboprop in the mid-nineties. Here you will learn what changed compared with the first generation, how to tell it from the ATR 42-300, ATR 42-600 and ATR 72, and where you can still get it in front of your lens today.

What is the ATR 42-500?

The ATR 42-500 is the second major generation of the small ATR turboprop. The family is built by the French-Italian manufacturer ATR, a joint venture in which Airbus and Leonardo are shareholders today. Final assembly is in Toulouse.

The story begins earlier: the first ATR 42 flew in 1984, the -300 version entered scheduled service in 1985, and the more powerful -320 followed later. By the early nineties it was clear that airlines wanted more power, more comfort and less noise. On June 14, 1993, ATR therefore announced the -500. The first flight took place on September 16, 1994, and certification by the British and French aviation authorities followed in July 1995. The first aircraft went to Italy’s Air Dolomiti on October 31, 1995, and first scheduled service followed in January 1996.

What is behind it technically? Mainly three things:

• New engines: Instead of the first generation’s PW120/PW121, two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW127E engines with around 2,400 hp do the work. This gives the -500 clearly better performance, especially at hot and high-elevation airfields.
• Six-blade propellers: The electronically controlled composite propellers from Hamilton Standard replace the old four-blade propellers. They run more smoothly and make the cabin quieter.
• More weight, new cabin: The maximum takeoff weight went up and the cabin was redesigned. Added to that were systems such as a dual Honeywell flight management system and the ability to fly CAT II approaches in poor visibility.

In November 2000 the ATR 42-500 also received approval for ETOPS with 120 minutes. That allows it to fly routes where the nearest alternate airport is up to two flight hours away – interesting for island connections and sparsely populated regions. The -500 was succeeded by the ATR 42-600, which first flew in 2010 and has been delivered since 2012.

The three features that are enough to identify it

At first glance, turboprops look more alike than jets. With three observations you can still narrow down the ATR 42-500 quickly.

That leaves the question of -500 or -600. Your eye can hardly answer it, because the differences are behind the cockpit windows. The registration helps here: how to read and look it up is explained in the article Understanding aircraft registrations. The age of the airframe often provides a clue; how to find out the year of manufacture is explained in How old is this aircraft?.

The ATR 42 generations compared

For collectors the ATR 42 is rewarding, because each generation carries its own type code. The table shows what to expect with which version.

Feature	ATR 42-300/-320	ATR 42-400	ATR 42-500	ATR 42-600
ICAO type designator	AT43	AT44	AT45	AT46
Engine	PW120 / PW121	PW121	PW127E	PW127M / PW127XT
Propeller blades	4	6	6	6
Cockpit	classic	classic	classic, with FMS	glass cockpit
How common today	rare, often as freighter	extremely rare	regularly with regional airlines	current production

The -400 is a footnote: it was a -320 with six-blade propellers. Only two civil examples were built, which flew as a stopgap with Czech Airlines before the Czechs got their -500s. A few maritime surveillance aircraft for the Italian state were added. So if you see a six-blade ATR 42 with a classic cockpit, it is almost certainly a -500.

You can find more about the first generation on the page about the ATR 42-300/320.

ATR 42-500 or ATR 72-500?

In parallel with the -500, the big sister got the ATR 72-500 with similar technology and likewise six propeller blades. In the field, this combination is the most common mix-up, because nose, tail and propellers look the same.

Feature	ATR 42-500	ATR 72-500
ICAO type designator	AT45	AT75
Length	22.67 m	around 27 m
Wingspan	24.57 m	around 27 m
Typical seat count	48	around 70
Look in profile	compact, wings longer than the fuselage	stretched, fuselage about as long as the wingspan

Pay attention to the section between the cockpit and the wing’s leading edge: on the ATR 72 there are noticeably more windows there, and the fuselage is also longer behind the wing. Once you have seen the two side by side, you can tell the difference even without counting. A detailed overview of all variants is provided by the article Telling ATR 42/72 and Dash 8 apart.

ATR 42, Dash 8 or Twin Otter?

Besides the ATR sisters, other regional turboprops come into question. The finder helps you narrow it down.

The Dash 8-100 and the Dash 8-300 were the ATR 42’s direct competitors in the nineties. The DHC-6 Twin Otter plays a class below. If you still struggle with turboprops in general, start with Identifying aircraft types for beginners.

The ATR 42-500 in German-speaking countries

In Germany the ATR 42-500 has a small but interesting history. The former regional airline Eurowings flew the type before passing nine aircraft to Contact Air of Stuttgart in 2003. Contact Air flew under the Lufthansa Regional brand from 2004, swapped four ATR 42-500s for larger ATR 72-500s in 2005 and later switched to the Fokker 100. You must not confuse that with today’s Eurowings operation with Airbus jets.

Launch customer Air Dolomiti also has a connection to the DACH region (Germany, Austria and Switzerland): the Italians were gradually taken over by Lufthansa from 1999 and used their ATR turboprops to link northern Italy with German hubs such as Munich for a long time. Today Air Dolomiti flies Embraer jets – the ATR era is history there.

As of October 2026, none of the big scheduled airlines from Germany, Austria or Switzerland operates the ATR 42-500. You are most likely to meet it with Denmark’s DAT Danish Air Transport. The family-run airline had around nine ATR 42s of the -300 and -500 versions in its fleet in early 2025 and, in its own network, flies from Saarbrücken Airport to Berlin and Hamburg, among other routes. Which ATR version is on which route at any given time changes, however – an ATR 72 is just as possible there.

Place	Chance of a hit	Why
Saarbrücken	medium	DAT serves routes to Berlin and Hamburg from here
Berlin, Hamburg	low to medium	Destination stations of the DAT routes from Saarbrücken
Copenhagen	medium	DAT’s home hub with ATR traffic to Bornholm
Other large DACH hubs	low	At most wet lease, charter or ferry flights

What is behind such operations for other airlines is explained in the article on wet lease. In Copenhagen the Flyvergrillen is a proven vantage point for watching regional traffic at Copenhagen Airport.

Where the ATR 42-500 flies worldwide

Outside the DACH region, the -500 is much more present. Scotland’s Loganair operates older ATR 42-500s alongside the ATR 42-600 and uses them to serve islands and regional airports in Scotland. In Canada, Canadian North flies the type in the Arctic; in Colombia, state-owned Satena and Clic use the ATR 42-500 on routes to small airfields. Pakistan International Airlines also most recently still had a few ATR 42-500s in its fleet.

Historically the type had many homes in Europe: TAROM flew several ATR 42-500s from the late nineties, Denmark’s Cimber Air flew them as well, as did the French regional subsidiary HOP! and its predecessors. An overview of the scene is given in the article Regional airlines in Europe.

Another chapter is freighter conversions: approvals for conversion to a pure freighter exist for all ATR 42 versions. On the first generation that is by now the normal case; on the -500 it also happens with increasing age. How to recognize such aircraft is shown in the article Recognizing cargo aircraft.

Spotting in practice: planning for small turboprops

The ATR 42-500 needs little runway and therefore often lifts off much earlier than the jets at the same airport. At the runway end it then passes over you at some altitude. For takeoffs, a vantage point to the side of the runway, around the middle of the runway, is usually more productive. For landings everything depends on the runway direction in use; how to estimate it is explained in Understanding the runway direction in use at an airport.

Because regional routes are often served only once or twice a day, thorough preparation pays off. How to follow individual aircraft live is covered in the guide to flight tracking with ADS-B. What is behind codes like AT45 is explained in ICAO type codes explained.

Whether your vantage point is legally unproblematic is answered by Is plane spotting allowed?. You can find tips for rare visitors under Spotting rare aircraft.

Photo tips especially for the ATR 42-500

Small, looking long-legged and with big propellers: the ATR 42-500 is a charming subject. A few points make the difference.

When the light is right at your spot, you work out beforehand; how that works is explained in Planning the sun position for your photo spot. For this, Planetrack shows you the best light and community photos from each vantage point on the spot map.

Common mix-ups and how to rule them out

Conclusion

The ATR 42-500 was the step with which the small ATR turboprop grew up: more powerful PW127E engines, six-blade propellers, more performance in heat and a quieter cabin. For spotters it is the link between the four-blade first generation and today’s -600. In German-speaking countries it has become rare, but with some planning and a look at DAT, Saarbrücken or Copenhagen it can definitely be found.