12mo ago

NYC-bound flight canceled when passenger notices missing bolts on plane wing

nypost.com NYC-bound flight canceled when passenger notices missing bolts on plane wing

“I’m a good flyer, but my partner was not loving the information I was telling her and starting to panic,” British traveler Phil Hardy said of the moment he spotted the missing fi…

A New York-bound Virgin Atlantic flight was canceled just moments before takeoff last week when an alarmed passenger said he spotted several screws missing from the plane’s wing.

You're viewing a single thread.

85 comments

I would have been fine flying on that plane.
Highly unlikely that panel was critical to keeping the plane in the air even if it did come off during flight.
- You don’t think it’s possible that missing bolts in a non critical part of the plane is reflective of poor inspection and maintenance and that would increase the risk of missing or loose bolts in, say, a door?
  
  Yep, any number of reasons why it could have been left like that.
  I’ve been on planes where I’ve seen duct tape on the wings, it’s really not an issue other than psychological.
  
  You didn’t answer the question.
  
  As in, do I think it means there are poor inspection practices?
  No it isn’t indicative of this. Planes fly with things wrong with them every single day.
  There is every chance that the maintenance crew notified people of this - it was signed off as still being airworthy and the whole reason this was an issue is actually because PR not a risk to safety.
  
  Okay whatever you have to tell yourself bra. If this were not a concern they would have FLOWN THE PLANE and not grounded it out of safety concern. lol.
  
  In the end I recognize that I am not the expert on these matters in any way. I have no idea what a properly maintained aircraft looks like and pretty much have to trust the people who are paid to know these things. If you're uncomfortable with something, by all means mention it, but it's folly to assume you know better or can make even decent assumptions about the maintenance of a plane unless you are an aircraft mechanic.
  
  You didn't really answer or address my question. If you walk into a restaurant and see a rat running by table #2, do you just assume that "the restaurant experts" know better than you and it is safe to eat the food?
  
  Is there a ginger twink in the kitchen?
  
  By all means, if you are concerned about something on the plane, please mention it to a member of the flight crew.
  That said, you've used a poor analogy.
  There's a difference between understanding the significance of a rat in a restaurant and understanding the significance of some bolts missing from a piece of fuselage... which is the point of the comment you're glibly replying to.
  Most people understand the concept of rats being harbingers of illness, but most people don't understand the finer mechanics of powered flight. We put our trust in the flight crew to have that greater understanding, that they won't put our OR their lives in danger by cutting corners. Chances are good that if the flight crew isn't concerned, you don't need to be either.
  
  No but we do know the basic function of screws: holding shit together. The absence of screws implies that shit is not held together fully. Is it still sufficient to fly? Maybe. But the presence of screw holes implies that somebody in the development process thought them necessary and now they're not there.
  Sure, it's likely safe in the same was that the restaurant rat is likely not carrying a plague. But it's not guaranteed and I'm not willing to be the one to test it
  
  They why did they ground the plane if they weren't concerned? And then replace the bolts that you claim aren't necessary? Are they cosmetic bolts? lol.
  
  I didn't say anything about that plane, and I didn't say anything about bolts being unnecessary. I was simply responding to the other guys bad analogy because he kept demanding someone answer his question.
  
  but most people don't understand the finer mechanics of powered flight.
  Pretty sure "are all the bolts in their holes" is more of an "I can put IKEA furniture together pretty well" level and not "finer details of the mechanics of flight" level
  
  Sure, this is why the passenger raised the issue to make sure someone responsible was aware of it and could make that safety judgement. And clearly they were right to do so if the pilot (or whoever) grounded the plane.
- Panels coming off during flight is still not ideal, even if they're not critical to flying. They can hit things that are more essential.
  
  The chances of that panel actually coming off are vanishingly small.
  
  Yeah, it's like if a door would fall off a plane in the course of a flight, very unlikely
  
  Touché, although I’m assuming this is a different model of aircraft so not plagued by the same issues.
  
  And what's the worst that can happen?
  If we ignore the part of people dying and all.
  
  ITT:
  "We aren't the experts in planes and how they work."
  Also
  "Very unlikely this comes apart."
  
  The reason I think that it’s unlikely to be problematic is because the experts quoted in the article said it’s unlikely to be problematic.
  I also have a very small amount of knowledge on this and know that planes fly with missing parts/broken things all the time, just like how everything in our car isn’t working 100% of the time either but we still drive it.

85 comments