The detached propeller from the Regional Express (REX) SAAB 340 was located by NSW Police at around noon (21 March 2017).
The propeller was located by NSW Police helicopter PolAir1 in an area of bushland near Revesby in Sydney’s south-west.
The ATSB is now working with NSW Police to recover the 100kg propeller assembly in preparation for examination.
Since the propeller assembly detached from the engine on a flight from Albury to Sydney on 17 March, the ATSB has been calculating its likely trajectory, using data from the aircraft’s flight data recorder. The propeller was located in an area broadly consistent with the ATSB’s calculations.
The ATSB investigation team will examine the propeller assembly to determine the contributing factors that led to its detachment from the aircraft.
ATSB Chief Commissioner Greg Hood thanked NSW Police for their ongoing cooperation with locating and recovering the propeller.
Update 22 March 2017: ATSB senior transport safety investigators Aaron Holman (left) and Max Marton with the SAAB 340 propeller that detached from the engine on a Rex flight from Albury to Sydney on 17 March.
The propeller was lifted from its position in bushland near Revesby, south-west of Sydney, to a nearby field using a PolAir helicopter.
It was then transported by truck for storage at a NSW Police Aviation Support Branch facility at Bankstown where ATSB investigators will continue their investigation into the incident.
ATSB senior transport safety investigators Aaron Holman (left) and Max Marton with the SAAB 340 propeller
