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 👇
VIDEO AT LINK.............
Paying attention might save your life, ladies and gents.
Aviation Ping!....................
What’s s few screws here and there?..................
4 bolts. Probably not a big deal. But now that Boeing got a bad rap, they’re being cautious.
“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.
-PJ
If four bolts were superfluous, they would not be part of the kit.
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!"
Oh Gawd... Gross!
It might fly a little better with ALL the bolts.
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.
how’s that diversity over skills working for you?
Engines have fallen off wings before, when the pylons were fatigued and cracked................
How, exactly, does the author KNOW for CERTAIN that the engineer is doing it properly?
DEI.
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.
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?
You didn’t wonder how many were missing that you couldn’t see?...................I certainly would.................
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!
Nope. Too much redundancy.
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