Plane maker Bombardier ordered the grounding of at least 40 percent of its Q-400 turboprop planes after a Scandinavian Airlines aircraft skidded off a runway with 52 people aboard, the second such incident in three days.

No one was injured on Sep. 12 when the landing gear failed, forcing the emergency touchdown in Lithuania. However, the accident followed the crash landing late last week of a SAS flight that suffered a similar failure in Denmark, injuring five people.

That SAS turboprop carrying 73 people caught fire on Sep. 9 after its right landing gear collapsed during an emergency landing at Aalborg's airport.

The grounding on Sep. 12 forced the cancellation of at least 200 flights worldwide. Both SAS and Horizon Air, a regional US carrier operated by Alaska Air Group Inc, each canceled more than 100 flights to inspect their turboprop aircraft.

SAS grounded its 27 Bombardier turboprops of the same make, while Horizon Air grounded 19 and Austrian Airlines Group said it would not fly the eight it owns, pending inspection.

Bombardier said Qantas, Lufthansa, Flybe, All Nippon Airways and Japan Air Commuter are also grounding their Q-400 turboprop planes.

Bombardier sent representatives to assist European authorities, saying "Bombardier cannot speculate or comment as to the cause of these incidents." The company called the groundings a "precautionary measure."

Bombardier, the world's No. 3 civilian airline maker, said Canadian regulators have been briefed on the situation and could recommend further "corrective actions."

"We believe our aircraft are absolutely safe and reliable," a Bombardier spokesman said.

US and Canadian aviation regulators recently ordered Montreal-based Bombardier to address wing malfunctions on certain jets flown by regional carriers in North America.

The US Federal Aviation Administration's directive, which went into effect on Sep. 5, covers 684 airplanes in the US fleet that were built by Bombardier and used by carriers such as Air Wisconsin and SkyWest Inc.

The airplanes have experienced flap failures over several years, according to Transport Canada, which issued its own safety order affecting 87 jets last month.

On Sep. 12, SAS pilots attempted to land the 80-passenger plane at Vilnius airport in Lithuania on its front and left landing gear when the right set of wheels failed to extend, authorities said.

Passengers were ordered to move to the left side of the plane as it approached the runway for fear that the right propeller might shred upon landing and send shards into the cabin, said Kestutis Auryla, head of the Lithuanian Civil Aviation Administration.