Regional Express has said that safety was not compromised when a plane flew from Moruya to Merimbula with damage to one of its propellers on Friday, January 9.
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The company said that the flight affected was ZL117, Sydney to Merimbula via Moruya.
In a statement to the News Weekly, Rex said: “A bird strike occurred on landing at Moruya. The crew acted in accordance with company procedure and inspected the aircraft finding no visible damage. The aircraft was cleared to fly to Merimbula by the engineers consulted on the phone.
“On arrival at Merimbula, the crew immediately spotted that a small tip of one propeller had been detached. The aircraft was grounded pending repairs.
“The company followed procedures at all times and 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.”
According to Aero Inside which tracks aircraft incidents, the Regional Express Saab 340B, registration VH-OLM from Sydney to Moruya, struck multiple galahs on approach to Moruya but continued for a safe landing at Moruya.
The crew subsequently performed an inspection of the aircraft, found no anomaly, and continued for the next sector of flight ZL-117 to Merimbula.
Aero Inside said: "Descending into Merimbula the crew noticed abnormal vibrations through the flight controls, the aircraft landed safely in Merimbula.
"Australia's TSB 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."
