Propeller malfunction involving Bombardier DHC-8, Cairns, Queensland, on 22 August 2018

What happened

On 22 August 2018, at 1235 Eastern Standard Time, a Bombardier DHC-8 departed Cairns, Queensland (Qld) for a regular public transport flight to Moranbah, Qld.

During initial climb between 600 ft and 1,000 ft, the crew detected severe engine surging. The crew identified the no. 2 engine as the affected engine and shut it down. The crew completed the relevant checklists, declared a PAN PAN^[1] and continued climb to 7,000 ft. The crew then returned the aircraft for landing on runway 33 at Cairns.

Engineers replaced the propeller control unit and the over speed governor and returned the aircraft to service.

About this report

Decisions regarding whether to conduct an investigation, and the scope of an investigation, are based on many factors, including the level of safety benefit likely to be obtained from an investigation. For this occurrence, no investigation has been conducted and the ATSB did not verify the accuracy of the information. A brief description has been written using information supplied in the notification and any follow-up information in order to produce a short summary report, and allow for greater industry awareness of potential safety issues and possible safety actions.

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1. PAN PAN: an internationally recognised radio call announcing an urgency condition which concerns the safety of an aircraft or its occupants but where the flight crew does not require immediate assistance.