The type of plane that crashed in upstate New York late Thursday has had safety issues in the past.

Flight 3407 was a Bombardier Q400, a top wing plane with the cabin hanging below. Proponents of the plane say it gives more stability, which is important since it moves almost as fast as a jet at 414 miles per hour.

The Q400 has come under fire after eight planes had landing gear failures. In 2007, the planes makers urged airlines to inspect all Q400?s with more than 10,000 landings. Scandinavian Airplanes discontinued using the plane at all, citing diminished trust from passengers.

Former NTSB investigator Chuck Leonard dismisses the notion of the plane being categorically unsafe.

?They had some problems with the landing gear ? but that was only on landing,? says Leonard. ?Those problems have been fixed and I?m sure that didn?t have anything to do with this particular event.?

Listof Flight 3407 victims from New Jersey