Virgin Atlantic cancels flight when passenger notices missing wing bolts. On another note, here's a real ad the airline ran.

Not The Bee ^ | 22 January 2024 | Staff

[Red Badger]

Aviation Ping!....................

What’s s few screws here and there?..................

[MinorityRepublican]

4 bolts. Probably not a big deal. But now that Boeing got a bad rap, they’re being cautious.

[BobL]

“I’m a good flyer, but my partner was not loving the information I was telling her and starting to panic”

I don’t really care how his associate reacted, but I would like to know what his wife (or girlfriend) thought about this.

[Political Junkie Too]

Did he ask the flight attendant for a screwdriver?

-PJ

[PGR88]

[HIDEK6]

If four bolts were superfluous, they would not be part of the kit.

[Billthedrill]

Airbus, the maker of the aircraft, assures us that with 119 fasteners on each wing, the missing 4 bolts weren't going to put anyone in danger or disrupt the flight.

Well, it was 115 of 119 there. Wonder how many go missing before it does become a problem? This could be turned into a commercial: "Fly Virgin - almost all the bolts every time!"

[Bullish]

Oh Gawd... Gross!

[Bullish]

It might fly a little better with ALL the bolts.

[Empire_of_Liberty]

If they’re being put in with a screwdriver, I suspect that’s how they got lost in the first place. There certainly is no control over how tight they are.

It seems like we are headed for a Star Trek time loop and engines are going to start falling off of wings on airplanes.

[sten]

how’s that diversity over skills working for you?

[Red Badger]

Engines have fallen off wings before, when the pylons were fatigued and cracked................

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Here's video of the engineer on the wing with a screwdriver putting the bolts in properly.

How, exactly, does the author KNOW for CERTAIN that the engineer is doing it properly?

[WKUHilltopper]

DEI.

[cyclotic]

14000 screws on a wing, so what if a few came out.

I remember seeing a couple missing once and didn’t give it another thought.

[Mogger]

Idiot "journalist" ignorant of what a Phillips head screw is, apparently every fastener is a "bolt" to the dolt.

I wouldn't worry about those 4 particular fasteners missing though.

What I would worry about, is if those are missing, what others are missing or loose that might be critical?

[Red Badger]

You didn’t wonder how many were missing that you couldn’t see?...................I certainly would.................

[CardCarryingMember.VastRightWC]

June of 1968: Vladivostok, USSR. We had boarded an Aeroflot flight to Moscow and it was taxiing slowly out to the takeoff point. My Dad looked out his window and spotted a couple of very heavy-looking things clamped to the flaps. He thought it might be something put on when the plane was parked overnight outside the hangars, and they needed to weigh the wings down so strong winds didn't mess with the plane.

He called for the stewardess, who looked where he was pointing, and quickly drew her breath in. She never ever did say a word to us, but she hurried off to the cockpit, and next thing you know, the plane is just sitting out there waiting & waiting. Finally a small truck with a built-in stepladder comes scooting out and a worker removes the gizmos. As I recall, there was at least one more on the other side of the plane too. Then the truck merrily goes on its way, and we finally take off.

My whole family, and friends who were traveling with us, were all convinced that my Dad saved our lives that day!

[cyclotic]

Nope. Too much redundancy.