Propeller strike
Type of aircraft accident
In aviation, a propeller strike, or prop strike, also called a sudden stoppage, is an event in which an aircraft's propeller contacts any object and is forcibly stopped or slowed. Propeller strikes can be the result of the propeller contacting the ground due to landing gear collapse, failure to extend the landing gear, or nose-over. However, the term also includes the damage incurred from contacting any object, such as a hangar door or fuselage (such as the case in Reeve Aleutian Airways Flight 8), or even the sudden rpm loss from contacting a yielding substance such as water or heavy tall grass.
As well as damaging the propeller itself, a prop strike with the engine running can cause severe damage to the engine and its connected accessories, such as the alternator. An engine tear-down and rebuild is usually recommended, otherwise there is a risk of an in-flight engine failure, broken crankshaft or loss of propeller.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Propeller strike”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Broken propeller.jpg by MyName (Dtom), CC BY-SA 3.0
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