Australian safety authorities are investigating a rare accident which saw a propeller break loose from the right engine of a Regional Express (Rex) 34-passenger SAAB 340 as it approached Sydney airport.
The pilots made a pan-pan call, indicating urgency but no immediate threat to life, about 16km from the airport before calmly continuing the flight and landing safely at 12.05pm local time.
The airline said the 16 passengers and three crew on Flight ZL768 from the NSW regional town of Albury were met at the airport and did not require any further assistance.
It is understood the pilots were in the process of shutting down the engine after experiencing vibrations when one of them saw the propellor detach and fly across the wing, luckily missing the tail section. Photographs of the engine suggest other parts are also missing.
Audio logs obtained by the ABC show the pilots calmly reacting to the incident as they tell air traffic controllers one of the propellers has just sheared off.
"REX768 we've just had *inaudible* engine operations and our propeller has just sheared off," ones says.
"We've got normal controls, still be able to fly would require 1-6 right and we should be able to conduct a precautionary landing."
Rex said in a statement that the plane experienced an event "associated with the aircraft's right propeller assembly".
"The crew followed standard operating procedures and the aircraft landed normally and on-time at Sydney Airport,'' it said.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is keen to find the missing propeller but has urged anyone who finds it not to touch it.
It is believed to have detached somewhere over Camden and anybody finding it should immediately ring police or the ATSB on 1800 020 616..
"The ATSB is deploying a team of three investigators with expertise in materials failure engineering, recorded flight data analysis, and human factors,'' the bureau said.
"Over the next few days, investigators will examine the aircraft, interview the flight and cabin crew, collect maintenance records and recorded flight data."
Rex is Australia’s biggest independent regional airline and operates services across the country.
The aircraft, registration VH-NRX, was delivered in 1992 and was first operated in the US before being transferred to the Australian register in September 2004.
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