Regional Express Airlines (Rex) has made the decision to ground some of its aircraft as investigations into last week’s propeller incident continue.
On Friday, two of the airline’s pilots were praised for successfully landing a Saab 34 carrying 16 passengers with only one propeller in tact.
According to the carrier, the two pilots were en-route from Albury to Sydney when they received ‘abnormal indications’ for the right-hand engine.
They decided to shut down the engine, which led to the propeller assembly “separating from its shaft”.
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Although the aircraft landed safely, images of the dismantled propeller mid-flight made headlines over the weekend and today resulted in the grounding of some aircraft.
Rex hasn’t revealed how many planes or services will be impacted, but did say the move was out of caution.
“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
“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,” Rex’s Chief Operating Officer Mr Neville Howell said.
“Rex places great emphasis on emergency procedures during the crew’s bi-annual training so that when rare emergencies like this one arise, the crew are well rehearsed to respond appropriately to ensure a safe outcome.”