SAAB 340 har problemer i Australia - To hendelser i løpet av kort tid - Curt Lewis

Rex airline flight to Sydney turned back after engine malfunction

REX'S nightmare run has just got worse, with one of the regional airline's Sydney-bound planes forced to turn back to Dubbo due to a malfunctioning engine.

The aircraft, carrying 23 passengers, made a safe emergency landing at 10am after crew were forced to shut down the engine of the Regional Express Saab 340 due to a high-temperature reading.

The incident comes after a Rex flight bound for Griffith was forced to return to Sydney Airport on Tuesday afternoon due to cabin pressure problems. A propeller fell from another Rex aircraft during an Albury to Sydney flight last week.

The right-side propeller was found in bushland in Revesby this week. Picture: Grahame Hutchison
Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) spokesman Peter Gibson said today's incident was a right-hand engine issue and was "totally unrelated" to the plane's propeller assembly.

The crew "had an indication of high engine temperature on the right-hand engine so it was shut down and they returned to Dubbo," Mr Gibson said.

A spokeswoman for Rex said engineers were inspecting the aircraft and will provide a report to CASA.

"It is not possible to tell at this stage whether the cause is from foreign object ingestion or from engine failure," she said.

"Whatever the ultimate cause is found to be, the Saab 340 aircraft is designed to climb, cruise and land safely on one engine which explains why the General Electric engines on the Saab 340 have clocked over 30 million hours with an impeccable safety record."

Polair operatives tracked down the propeller, which was later winched from its landing spot.
After last week's incident, Rex temporarily grounded some of its planes as a precautionary measure and launched an investigation.

The propeller from the plane was retrieved by a NSW PolAir helicopter from bushland in Revesby on Tuesday.

Authorities are investigating what they have called the "highly unusual" incident.

The only other recorded similar event was in 1991, when US carrier Comair's aircraft also landed safely after a separation of its propeller.

Rex has a fleet of 55 Saab 340 aircraft and operates about 1500 weekly flights to 58 destinations across Australia.