Propeller falls off Paris plane

A POSTAL freight plane had to make an emergency landing at Paris Charles-de-Gaulle after one of its propellers broke off as it was taking off.

The propeller, spinning at thousands of revs a minute – chopped a hole in the fuselage before spinning off towards the ground at Roissy.

Now the airport gendarmerie has made an urgent appeal for people living near Charles-de-Gaulle to try to recover the wrecked four-bladed propeller.

The Fokker F27, owned by Italian firm Miniliner and working for Europe Airpost, was carrying thousands of parcels when the left-hand motor exploded as it was taking off last night.

The gendarmes said that it was very fortunate that no one had been hurt.

Only the crew were on board and, so far, there have been no reports of injuries on the ground.

The Gendarmerie Transports Aériens can be contacted on 01 48 62 17 00 if anyone finds part of the missing propeller.
Photo: Torsten Maiwald