Seconds after liftoff, the cabin manager of a Link Airways Saab 340B pressed the emergency call button and told the flight crew that they needed to return to Canberra Airport in the Australian Capital Territory because “a passenger was hit,” according to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB).
The flight crew assumed that one of the 29 passengers was ill and returned to the airport, landing the airplane at 0816 local time, 13 minutes after takeoff.
After landing, they learned that the passenger had been hit by one of two cowling pins that were hurled into the cabin when a propeller strap — used to prevent the left propeller from windmilling while the airplane was parked — broke free of the blade and became embedded in the fuselage. The two cowling pins entered the cabin, and one struck the passenger’s leg, causing bruising.
In its final report on the Nov. 10, 2022, serious incident, the ATSB said that the airplane had been released for flight with the propelle…
