Posted on 01/22/2024 6:17:30 PM PST by Red Badger
A Virgin Atlantic flight was about to takeoff for the Big Apple when a nosy passenger peeked out their window and realized that something was off with the wing.
Yeah, the WING to the plane had screws missing! That's what you call a critical oversight.
They would have taken off if it hadn't been for the observant passenger:
British traveler Phil Hardy, 41, was onboard Flight VS127 at Manchester Airport in the UK on Jan. 15 when he noticed the four missing fasteners during a safety briefing for passengers and decided to alert the cabin crew.
"I'm a good flyer, but my partner was not loving the information I was telling her and starting to panic, and I was trying to put her mind at rest as much as I could," Hardy told the Kennedy News agency of the moment he spotted the missing fixings.
"I thought it was best to mention it to a flight attendant to be on the safe side."
The guy was gonna let it be, but he let his wife know about the missing screws and her nervousness caused him to talk to the attendant who passed it up the appropriate channels, causing a delay while they repaired the plane.
Here's video of the engineer on the wing with a screwdriver putting the bolts in properly:
Eventually, Virgin Atlantic canceled the flight, deciding that it would be best to give the entire plane the once-over before carrying on with business as usual.
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.
Virgin Atlantic, however, seems more worried about making sure their flights are as gay and black as possible and not as safe as possible.
This is a real ad they ran a few years back đ
VIDEO AT LINK.............
Paying attention might save your life, ladies and gents.
How does the CEO feel about Gay Drag Shows for Kids?
Probably so!...................
Ya ever ride in a NYC Taxi?
That’s what airplanes are, city taxi cabs in the air.
I’ll never voluntarily fly again.
If she makes me get on a plane, when we get back I get to buy the single malt of my choice. And no complaints will be heard.
Yes, many aircraft HAVE CRASHED on takeoff due to flap locks left in place, tail stabilizer locks, and criss-crossed wires going to the flaps and control/tail surfaces. Including the first-built B-17. .
Your statement is not incorrect, but these arenât âboltsâ, they are fasteners, there to keep a panel on, not holding the wing together. Itâs the kind of thing you write up and let maintenance fix at the next stop. Inspection panel fasteners wiggle loose. Not a big deal in small numbers. I have reported such on many aircraft and still flown.
Are their other loose bolts that are on the fuselage in front of the engines? Could they fall out and get sucked into the engine?
Poor and potentially deadly quality control.
The 119 [mentioned in the article] flathead machine screws [aka “the fasteners”], are for a panel situated on the top surface of the Airbus A330-300 wing.
Just think about all the bolts you canât see from your passenger seat
“Look for - the Union label...”
Correct answer, "as many as there are holes for!"
Anyone ever watch Air Disasters on the Smithsonian channel ?
Those investigators that figure out why a plane crashed have to be
The smartest people on the planet.
Yes, We watch it whenever it’s on...............
“How, exactly, does the author KNOW for CERTAIN that the engineer is doing it properly?”
There is a tool called a torque wrench that is used to make sure the proper amount of force is used when tightening a screw or bolt.
-PJ
I don’t see a torque wrench. Or torque screwdriver.
“I donât see a torque wrench. Or torque screwdriver”
I suggest you Google it.
I suggest you tell us.
Many years ago up here a civil C-130 freighter had been outside for an engine change. One of the bolts was left out. On the way back from the far north the affected turbine broke loose and rotated about 90 degrees. The propeller cut the main wing spar which failed. That wing went over the top of the fuselage and took out the other wing. The crew found themselves at high altitude in what had become a wingless fuselage. It took far too long to fall.
One bolt.
This is an intentional misuse of language to make a fairly innocuous situation sound more serious. This is what the media does all of the time these days. They of course do it in the other direction as well. Riots where people are looting and burning businesses and killing people are called âmostly peaceful demonstrationsâ.
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