Propeller strap strikes passenger after take off from Canberra
 

A passenger of Virgin Australia partner airline Link Airways has been taken to hospital after a bizarre accident at Canberra Airport on Thursday.

It’s understood a strap used to secure a propeller on a Link Airways’ Saab 340 aircraft overnight was not removed before the 8.05am flight to Sydney.

As a result, when the propellers started turning, the strap whipped through the fuselage of the aircraft, striking a female passenger.

Flight radar images showed the aircraft in question registered VH-VEQ taking off from Canberra, then returning within 14-minutes to the airport.
https://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/...33cc?width=320Flightradar image of the Link Airways flight in question. Picture: Flightradar24The injured passenger was taken to hospital suffering shock and bruising as the Australian Federal Police launched an investigation.

An AFP spokeswoman confirmed one passenger had minor injuries as a result of an incident on the tarmac at Canberra Airport and said the matter had now been referred to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau to investigate.

Canberra Airport chief executive Stephen Byron said they had spoken to the passenger to check on her wellbeing.

“We are aware of an incident this morning involving a Link Airways aircraft,” Mr Byron said.

“All of the appropriate aviation agencies have been contacted and Link Airways are co-operating with the investigation.”

However Virgin Australia denied anyone was injured and said “all passengers had disembarked safely”.

“Virgin Australia can confirm that flight VA633 operated by Link Airways on behalf of Virgin Australia from Canberra to Sydney on Thursday, November 10 was involved in an incident near Canberra airport,” said a Virgin Australia spokeswoman.

“After becoming aware of the incident, the crew took steps in accordance with standard operating procedures to prioritise the safety of all guests and crew on board and conducted an air return in line with safety protocols.”

Link Airways teamed up with Virgin Australia late last year, flying up to nine Canberra-Sydney services a day for the larger airline.

Under the deal, Link passengers are also eligible for Velocity frequent flyer points and in some cases can use Virgin Australia’s lounge facilities in Sydney.

Saab 340s seat 34 passengers in a 1-2 configuration and have long been used on regional routes in Australia with very few issues.

More to come
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/bus...03db4302237e80

Kevlar fuselage plate?

Which raises the question...........
Did the prop turn on taxy or only on take-off???

The God like pilot obviously needs a trip to Specsavers as on his walk around missed the feathered prop

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....6bc50f5fad.jpg
Surely safety signs are in place??

This is a crazy story, most likely due to journalist foul-up.

If it was on start-up, then the problem would be apparent before they left the chocks.
If it was in flight, how the fork did it happen?

Reports now in The Australian of three passengers being injured. Sure is a mystery!!

I assume the strap part-sheared off then when rolling it’s completely came off like a projectile into the fuselage?

Please post any fuselage pics would be interesting to see the damage both inside and out.

It doesn't make sense. If the flight 'plot' is accurate, whatever happened seems to have happened just before or just after rotation on take-off. How could a strap 'hang on' when full power was applied at the start of the take-off run?

I remember a number of years ago I landed on 30 and during the landing roll I passed some tie-down ropes lying on the runway. (Reported to TWR of course.) I guessed that the pilot of an aircraft that had taken off earlier had left the ropes on the wings during the pre-flight and they blew off during take-off. Maybe the SAAB picked up something on the runway during the take-off run?

This one's going to be interesting.

THere are conflicting updates on the Oz website:

Three passengers of Virgin Australia partner airline Link Airways have been injured after a bizarre accident at Canberra Airport on Thursday.

It’s understood a ratchet strap used to secure a propeller on a Link Airways’ Saab 340 aircraft overnight was not removed before the 8.05am flight to Sydney.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau said when the propellers started turning, the strap struck the fuselage of the aircraft

ATSB chief commissioner Angus Mitchell said they considered the incident to be serious.

“It is concerning that a passenger carrying aircraft did depart with what we understand at this stage to be the ratchet strap not removed from one of the propellers and that has subsequently come off in flight and made a penetration to some degree into the fuselage,” Commissioner Mitchell said.

“That is off particular concern to us, and something we will seek to understand what were the contributing factors, why wasn’t it picked up.”
..............................
The injured passengers were assessed for minor injuries at the scene, attended by the Australian Federal Police.
...............................

Virgin Australia denied anyone was injured and said “all passengers had disembarked safely”.

“Virgin Australia can confirm that flight VA633 operated by Link Airways on behalf of Virgin Australia from Canberra to Sydney on Thursday, November 10 was involved in an incident near Canberra airport,” said a Virgin Australia spokeswoman.


Nobody injured, one, three ????????????????

Nothing at all makes sense, first it hit the fuselage when the prop started turning, but later it hit the fuselage in flight. Also who uses 'ratchet straps' on a Saab, its got built in nacelle lock points which will not hold on much more than early start. This will be a very interesting read, as will the Dash 8 brake fire from the other day.

Canberra Times:
Passengers on a Link Airways flight screamed in horror when an object from the propeller pierced the fuselage as it took off. They then spent four minutes in the air with the hole in the side of the aircraft............

Is it feasible the strap became lodged/tangled at the shaft then was released either when pitch was changed or when it melted due to friction. A chaotic event either way!

​​​​
Mjb

Would a prop tie hold the prop in position, at idle ie the prop would not be turning while taxing out ? As TO thrust applied it broke the prop tie ?

Wait for the preliminary report. There is a paucity of good aviation journalism in Australia. Most journos describe moving off the ramp as beginning take off. Questions raised from this incident are 1. Prop unfeathering at commencement of taxi would cause the strap to detach. 2. Why did the crew not notice the fuselage penetration immediately a/c commenced taxi.3. Which propellor was affected, the LH strap is attached to the boarding stairs for pax safety and removed before stair retraction.. 4. Did the crew elect for some reason to taxi asymmetric with RH prop feathered thus not noticing strap in situ.

Three passengers on Link Airways flight assessed for minor injuries after incident at Canberra Airport
Three people have been assessed for minor injuries after an unusual incident at Canberra Airport this morning, the Australian Federal Police say.
The incident occurred on a Link Airways SAAB 340 turboprop passenger aircraft bound for Sydney, scheduled to leave Canberra Airport about 8am.
Shortly after take-off, a ratchet strap attached to a propeller punctured the side of the plane, with one of its ends appearing inside the cabin.
Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) Chief Commissioner Angus
Mitchell said the strap had been used to secure the propeller overnight and had not been removed.
The aircraft returned to the airport after just 14 minutes in the air.
"Transport safety investigators from the ATSB's Canberra office have deployed to Canberra Airport to inspect the aircraft, to begin the process of interviewing the flight crew and passengers, and to gather other relevant information for the investigation," Mr Mitchell said.
A spokeswoman from the Australian Federal Police said three people were assessed for minor injuries on the tarmac by the ACT Ambulance Service.
In a statement, Virgin Australia Group — a partner of Link Airways — said the crew followed standard operating procedures once they became aware of the incident, and nobody had been hurt.
"The aircraft landed safely at Canberra airport and there were no physical injuries to passengers or crew on board," a spokesperson said.
"All guests have disembarked safely and we are assisting both Link and authorities with their investigations."
Canberra Airport CEO Stephen Byron said there were no other delays to the airport's operations.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-11-...port/101639344

Strap and/or fittings punched a hole into the fuselage

For it to penetrate the fuse then, it had to be a metal 4wd/truck style ratchet strap. Who uses those to secure a prop overnight………….Every strap I’ve ever seen (been in the game 35 yrs now) has been soft, no metal parts, too much risk of damage for the obvious reasons. I’m with you Leadie, perhaps the RAAF should be checking their inventory of these things. Maybe the problem was only discovered once airborne because the old girl wouldn’t pressurise. Or maybe they did use a ‘supercheap special’ and were just asking for it………….

Metal affirm.

Has to be metal. The Saab 340 has two magnetic attach points for the prop strap, which are pressed in and then hold in position. The prop is held in a “North South East West” was, with each blade pointing N/S/E/W, or 12, 3, 6, 9 o’clock positions. Another AUS based Saab operator makes the crew rotate the props by 45 degrees before start. So that when checking “clear left/right” it’s obvious that the prop strap is not attached before start. Other TP operators do similar with PT6 engines. Unfamiliar with Garrett’s.

It did well to injure three people like that, were they all sitting on one seat?

AFP attended but NO INJURIES.

I tell you what, if they reported that the sun was going to rise in the East tomorrow I would have trouble believing them. Bunch of useless parasites most of them.