Rex halts flights after propeller fell off mid-flight

Investigations are underway into how the regional airline, Rex, lost a propeller off one of its aircrafts mid-flight. The plane, flight ZL768, was forced to make an emergency landing.

The Guardian reported that the crew onboard shut down the right-hand engine before the propeller fell off, as it approached Sydney Airport last Friday from Albury.

On board were 16 passengers and three crew members, none of which were harmed.

Regional Express previously claimed its SAAB 340B aircraft would continue operating as normal, but, per the ABC, has now decided to remove and quarantine all propeller gear boxes and shafts of the same series for further inspection.

Regional Express owns 55 SAAB 340B aircraft and is grounding five planes, in addition to the one involved in the incident.

Per the ABC, two of the planes were freight carriers and the other three were from the Sydney and Melbourne networks, with some disruptions expected over the next few days.

“Rex has decided, by abundance of caution, to immediately remove from service and quarantine all propeller gear boxes and shafts of the same series as that of the incident for further inspection and testing if warranted,” Rex said in a statement on Monday.

The engine encountered “abnormal indications” before crew members shut it down. That action “feathers” the propeller in order to reduce drag. This is when the propeller assembly separated and rotated upwards to the right of the aircraft. It sheared off at the shaft, with all the fittings at the main assembly remaining intact.

“The propeller was seen rotating in a horizontal position and then moving away without making contact with the aircraft,” Rex said on Monday.

“Both passengers and crew reported that the flight thereafter was smooth and the landing was normal in spite of bad weather at Sydney with winds exceeding 35 knots.”

Rex Chief Operating Officer, Neville Howell said that an event like this was rare, and had not recorded a similar event since 1991. He said the crew demonstrated “enormous composure and discipline under extraordinary circumstances.” 

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is investigating the incident, and the search continues for the propeller, which is believed to have sheared off over the Camden area.

Regional Express operates a fleet of more than 50 Saab 340 aircraft on about 1,500 weekly flights to 58 destinations across Australia.

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