What happened
On April 29, 2016, during a post-flight inspection at Warsaw Chopin Airport (EPWA), a mechanic identified damage to the right-hand emergency door of a SAAB SF-340A operated by SprintAir SA. The damage was located at the lower left corner of the door, specifically in front of the propeller plane.
Following the discovery, the crew from the preceding flight was interviewed. The crew stated that they had not observed any damage during their pre-flight inspection, nor had they noticed any impact with an object during the flight.
The investigation
The investigation focused on determining the origin of the damage to the aircraft's emergency door. Investigators examined the physical state of the aircraft and interviewed the flight crew regarding any potential bird strikes or ground object impacts during the previous operation.
Findings
- The investigation established that the most probable cause of the incident was an impact with an unidentified object.
- The object was likely lifted from the ground by the airflow/thrust generated by the operating propeller during ground operations.