Your piece on renewed or new regional turboprops ("Hydrogen-Electric Power Potential Expands to Large Regional Airliners,"Nov. 8-21,2021,p. 67) makes it timely to point out that a serious life-safety threat has not been addressed with this type of aircraft. When I saw the news photos of the SAAB 2000 involved in the recent runway overrun in Alaska ("Eye on Excursions,"Nov. 22-Dec. 5,2021, p. 56), my thoughts were: "What the heck! That looks absolutely survivable." I thought perhaps that the fatality was caused by the passenger slipping and hitting his head on the rocks during the evacuation. Today I read the NTSB's report. It contains hundreds of pages about pilot decision-making and about some faulty anti-skid wiring-but only a couple of small paragraphs toward the end discuss what actually killed this trusting passenger. What happened is that, on contact with the ground or obstructions, the port propeller shed its blades, two of which sliced through the cabin. One killed the victim instantly. Another went through to the far side, probably causing serious injuries to another passenger.
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