First hand account of Great Barrier Island plane propellor loss

The Herald reports:

Passengers on a Great Barrier Airlines flight watched in horror as a propeller came off in mid-air, smashing a window on their aircraft and ripping a door off.

“It was like an explosion going off inside the plane,” one told the Herald yesterday.

“The propeller came off and hit the side of the plane …

“Both propeller blades came off – the whole thing just destroyed itself. It just completely self-destructed.

“A door got ripped off and the side of the plane got smashed in – we all got covered in glass.

“There was a huge amount of debris that we were just covered in. There were chunks the size of golfballs that came back and hit you.”

I can imagine. The planes are tiny. No centre aisle. The roof is just above your head when seated – even for me. To have something hit the plane and rip a door off would be far more terrifying than on a larger plane.

I actually met the owner of the airline a few weeks ago – at the Great Barrier Island Black Tie Ball. I remember him telling me how they have never had a crash – a good achievement. This incident however, while not a crash, if disturbing. The internal and TAIC reports will be of great interest. Hopefully they will be public before I next travel there, and have to decide my mode of transport!