REGIONAL Express says that safety was not compromised when one of its planes flew from Moruya to Merimbula with a damaged propeller last Friday.
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The fight, from Sydney to Merimbula via Moruya, flew into trouble upon landing at Moruya Airport when the aircraft struck a bird.
A Regional Express spokesman said the crew on board flight ZL117 acted in accordance with company procedures and inspected the aircraft at Moruya.
“(The crew) found no viable damage,” he said.
“The aircraft was cleared to fly to Merimbula by the engineers (who were) consulted on the phone.”
However, on arrival at Merimbula, the crew spotted that a small tip of one propeller had been detached.
The spokesman said the aircraft was grounded pending repairs and passenger safety was not compromised.
“The matter has been reported to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) and the company will be carrying out further technical investigations,” he said.
There were 15 passengers on board from Sydney to Moruya, with eight passengers continuing on to Merimbula.
According to Aero Inside, which tracks aircraft incidents, the Regional Express Saab 340B struck multiple galahs on approach to Moruya but continued for a safe landing.
“The crew subsequently performed an inspection of the aircraft, found no anomaly, and continued for the next sector of flight ZL-117 to Merimbula,” the report on Aero Inside’s website said.
"Descending into Merimbula the crew noticed abnormal vibrations through the flight controls. The aircraft landed safely in Merimbula.
"Australia's Transport Safety Board reported that another inspection at Merimbula revealed that a section of a propeller was missing.
“The occurrence was rated a serious incident, an investigation has been opened."