Dornier 728JET

The Dornier 728JET (also known as Fairchild Dornier 728) was a planned 70-85 seat regional jet that was never completed. Announced as a larger derivative of the successful 328JET, the 728JET was designed to compete with the Bombardier CRJ700 and Embraer ERJ-170/175 in the growing 70-90 seat regional jet market. The design featured a stretched fuselage (approximately 27 meters long), General Electric CF34-8D1 turbofan engines (12,500 lbf thrust each), and would have offered the largest cabin in its class - 0.51cm wider than the Embraer E-Jet and 0.70cm wider than the CRJ-700, with five-abreast seating. The aircraft was intended to cruise at Mach 0.81 with a range of 1,400-4,000 nm depending on variant. Two variants were planned: the 728-100 baseline and the 728-200 with higher MTOW. Despite receiving initial orders and interest, the 728JET program was terminated when Fairchild Dornier filed for insolvency on April 2, 2002, before the first aircraft could be completed. The 728JET remains one of aviation's significant "what-if" aircraft that could have offered genuine competition in the regional jet market.