Anyone travelling across the Solent on the Hover yesterday afternoon, might have had a bit of a fright.
According to VB reader Sarah Morris (who also sent in the photo), approximately half way across the Solent on the 2.15pm sailing from Southsea passengers heard a large bang.
Crew assured the passengers that there was nothing to worry about, advising that the propeller shaft had broken.
Sarah went on to say that the crew were very good and they were safely taken back to Ryde on the one remaining engine, at around half speed.
“Propeller mechanism became detached”
Hovertravel has this morning confirmed that, “A technical issue resulted in part of the propeller mechanism becoming detached from the hovercraft. The craft was able to continue on its journey to Ryde. No passengers or crew were injured. The hovercraft has been taken out of service for inspection.
“Hovertravel is continuing to operate a full service using its other two craft. Hovertravel has an excellent safety record and maintains its craft to a very high technical standard.”
Phew, that’s a relief.
Update 9.32: Title was changed from “Hover Loses Propeller Shaft Mid-Journey” to “Hovercraft: Propeller Shaft Breaks Mid-Flight” after Hovertravel confirmed that everything remained on board and nothing was lost in the Solent. The flight was also updated from 2pm to 2.15pm
