[Peetwo]

Understandably there was much media coverage when a REX SAAB rocked into YSSY minus a propeller...

Propeller shears off mid-flight

12:00amEMILY RITCHIE

A Regional Express flight narrowly avoided disaster yesterday after a propeller sheared off the plane mid-flight.


Propeller drops off mid-flight

5:51pmEmily Ritchie

A Regional Express aircraft has been force to make an emergency landing at Sydney airport.

Update 20/03/17: REX & the case of still missing prop -

From the AAP via the Oz:

Rex grounds planes after propeller mishap

Rex has grounded part of their Saab 340 fleet after a plane lost a propeller mid-flight last week. Picture: Grahame Hutchison

• AAP
  
• 1:15PM March 20, 2017
  
  Regional airline Rex has grounded some of its planes as an investigation continues into how a propeller fell off an aircraft as it approached Sydney Airport late last week.
  Regional Express has revealed the crew had shut down the right hand engine of the Saab 340 before the propeller assembly “was seen by the first officer to separate from its shaft” on Friday when the flight from Albury was 25 kilometres southwest of Sydney.
  
  “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 airline is yet to confirm how many planes have been impacted. The engine was shut down on Friday following “abnormal indications”. That action “feathers” the propeller in order to reduce drag.
  
  It was at this point that the propeller assembly separated and rotated upwards and to the right of the aircraft which was carrying 16 passengers and three crew members.
  
  “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 despite bad weather at Sydney with winds exceeding 35 knots.” Rex’s chief operating officer, Neville Howell, says a propeller falling off is an extremely rare event.
  
  “The only other recorded similar event was in 1991 when US carrier Comair’s aircraft also landed safely after a separation of its propeller,” he said. Rex says its propeller sheared off at the shaft and all the fittings at the main assembly were intact.
  
  Mr Howell on Monday praised the crew for showing “enormous composure and discipline under extraordinary circumstances”.
  
  The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is investigating Friday’s 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 1500 weekly flights to 58 destinations across Australia.
  
  AAP jcd/SY
  

And from Matt O'Sullivan via the SMH...

Regional Express lauds 'exceptional skills' of captain after plane loses propeller

 

• [/url]Matt O'Sullivan
  

Regional Express is removing from all of its planes propeller gear boxes and shafts of the same series as those on a Saab 340 aircraft that was forced to make an emergency landing after one of its propellers fell off in mid-flight.
The airline has also praised the actions of the [url=http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/passenger-planes-propeller-shears-off-in-midflight-forcing-emergency-landing-at-sydney-20170317-gv0i1c.html]pilots of flight ZL-768 on Friday for demonstrating "enormous composure and discipline under extraordinary circumstances".

The 34-seat Regional Express plane, carrying 16 passengers and three crew, was about 19 kilometres from Sydney Airport when its right-hand propeller flew off, leading the two pilots to declare a PAN, which is one step down from a full-scale Mayday.

In a decision it described as due to an "abundance of caution", Regional Express said the gear boxes and shafts of the same series would be immediately removed from service while it waited for air-safety investigators to "determine the root cause of the incident".

Regional Express chief operating officer Neville Howell said the separation of the propeller from the engine was an "extremely rare event", and the only other similar recorded incident occurred to a plane operated by US airline Comair in 1991.

"The crew demonstrated enormous composure and discipline under extraordinary circumstances," he said on Monday.

"The captain displayed exceptional skills in landing the aircraft so smoothly in bad weather and strong winds, so much so that the passengers did not notice anything different."

The airline said investigations over the past three days had found the propeller sheared off at the shaft, leaving intact all the fittings at the main assembly.

A propeller sheared off the Regional Express Saab 340 in mid-air on Friday.  Photo: Grahame Hutchison

The plane's first officer saw the propeller break away, and rotate upwards and to the right before moving in a horizontal direction.

Mr Howell said an audio clip of one of the first officer's conversation with air traffic control demonstrated a "calm, collected and professional manner".E



The right-hand engine, minus propeller, after the plane landed.  Photo: Supplied

Aviation watchers have said it was "incredibly lucky" the propeller did not hit the wing, fuselage or the tail, which could have been catastrophic for the aircraft and those on board. A large object falling from 6000 feet also posed a huge risk to people in the populated area below.

One passenger on flight Zl-768 said the separation of the propeller happened in a split second, and she had initially thought a bird had hit the aircraft.
The propeller has yet to be found, and the Australian Transport Safety Bureau has advised anyone who finds it to leave it where it is, and contact its investigators or the police.

Finally from Oz Aviation:

Regional Express to withdraw four aircraft after loss of propeller incident
March 20, 2017 by australianaviation.com.au
Saab 340B VH-NRX on short final to Sydney’s runway 16R after losing its right hand side propeller. (Damien Aiello)

Regional Express (Rex) says it will immediately withdraw four aircraft with propeller gearboxes and shafts of the same series as that of its Saab 340B which lost a propeller during a flight to Sydney.

The incident took place on Friday, when the propeller from the right hand engine of Saab 340B VH-NRX, which was  operating flight ZL768 carrying 16 passengers and three crew en route from Albury to Sydney, separated from its shaft when the aircraft was about 20km from Sydney Airport.

The pilots landed the aircraft safely with all on board unharmed.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has opened an investigation into the incident and called on anyone who has found the missing propeller to contact either it or the police.

Rex said on Monday it had 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”.

A spokesperson for the airline told Australian Aviation five of Rex’s 55 Saab 340 fleet would be taken out of service as part of the ongoing investigation. The figure included the aircraft involved in Friday’s incident, including VH-NRX. Of the five, two were operating with Rex’s Pel-Air subsidiary as freighters, while one was from Rex’s Sydney base and two from its Melbourne base.

“There will be some minor disruptions for 1 or 2 days,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement on Monday.

The airline said it was for the ATSB to determine the root cause of the incident through its investigation and metallurgical analysis.

“As there is an on-going investigation by the ATSB, Rex will leave it to this authority to provide any technical updates it deems appropriate,” Rex chief operating officer Neville Howell said in a statement.

“However, we wish to state categorically that all our actions and decisions will be taken in strict compliance with the instructions of the various authorities and original equipment manufacturers, and we have safety as our paramount consideration.”

VH-NRX was manufactured in 1991 and first registered in Australia in October 2004, according to the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) website.

Rex also offered a few more details on what happened during the flight.

It said the pilots shut down the right hand engine in accordance with checklist procedures after they noticed “abnormal indications”.

“It was at this point that the propeller assembly was seen by the first officer to separate from its shaft,” Rex said.

“The propeller assembly was seen to rotate upwards and to the right. The propeller was seen rotating in a horizontal position and then moving away without making contact with the aircraft.

“The propeller was found to have sheared off at the shaft and all the fittings at the main assembly were intact.”

Rex said it had been in contact with the aircraft manufacturer Saab and the engine manufacturer General Electric (GE).

“This is an extremely rare event and the only other recorded similar event was in 1991 when US carrier Comair’s aircraft also landed safely after a separation of its propeller,” Howell said.

Howell also praised the captain and first officer for their handling of the incident.
“The crew demonstrated enormous composure and discipline under extraordinary circumstances, and I commend their professionalism,” Howell said.

“The captain displayed exceptional skills in landing the aircraft so smoothly in bad weather and strong winds, so much so that the passengers did not notice anything different.

“We would also like to thank the flight attendant and our staff at Sydney Airport for their assistance and support to our passengers.”

Bye the bye - Chris Grealy off the original Oz Aviation story on this incident - see HERE - asks an interesting QON:

Chris Grealy says
March 18, 2017 at 6:32 am

There was an AD out for this in 1994. Did this one slip through? “This amendment supersedes an existing airworthiness directive (AD), applicable to General Electric Aircraft Engines (GEAE) CT7 series turboprop engines, that currently requires a one-time ultrasonic inspection of a suspect population of propeller shafts for metallurgical defects, and if necessary, replacement with a serviceable part. This amendment extends the compliance time for the required ultrasonic inspection on certain propeller shafts. This amendment is prompted by information indicating that the equipment necessary to perform the ultrasonic inspection is less available than originally assumed. The actions specified by this AD are intended to prevent failure of the propeller shaft, which can result in separation of the propeller from the propeller shaft and possible damage to the aircraft.”

 

MTF...P2