Hawker Siddeley HS 748 Paper ended most military manned-aircraft development in the UK, and Avro decided to re-enter the civilian market. The Vickers Viscount had the larger end of the short-haul market, and Avro therefore decided to design a smaller regional airliner powered by two Rolls-Royce Dart turboprop engines, intended to replace the many DC-3 Dakotas that were by then reaching the end of their economic lifespan. Original plans were for a 20–30 seat aircraft with a similar configuration to the Fokker F27, but talks with potential customers soon led to a low-wing 40-seat design being chosen for the 748 project. Avro was not
Turboprop Dornier 328, Saab 2000, Xian MA60, MA600 and MA700, Fokker 27 and 50. Turboprop business aircraft include the Piper Meridian, Socata TBM, Pilatus PC-12, Piaggio P.180 Avanti, Beechcraft King Air and Super King Air. In April 2017, there were 14,311 business turboprops in the worldwide fleet. Between 2012 and 2016, the ATSB observed 417 events with turboprop aircraft, 83 per year, over 1.4 million flight hours: 2.2 per 10,000 hours. Three were “high risk” involving engine malfunction and unplanned landing in single‑engine Cessna 208 Caravans, four “medium risk” and 96% “low risk”. Two occurrences resulted in minor injuries due to