Passengers revolt after being told to fly on jet with its wing tip missing

The Daily Mail (U.K.) ^ | November 3, 2007 | DANIEL BOFFEY

[Stoat]

How about an airfare discount for flying on an incomplete plane? :-)

How about if you remove the lousy, hatchet-edited inflight movies and the lousy food as well? And you really don't need ALL of those engines, do you?

[Stoat]

Sri Lankan Airways Customer Service Ping

[jackibutterfly]

Holy cow! Did it STILL fly????

[neodad]

Ping!

[fieldmarshaldj]

It added: "They are purely for aerodynamics"

Yeah, see, that's how a plane flies. No wingies, no fly. Good to see they have single-digit IQ folks working for the airlines. Very reassuring.

[bill1952]

All I can say is that I would not fly my Piper with damage like that...

Incredible

[xsrdx]

There is no impact on safety at all. Safety is our absolute priority."

Er.. not sure how you would know that without checking the remainder of the wing and wing spars for structural damage?

What the hell kind of airline flies passengers on a damaged airplane?

Maybe they checked overnight and determined the wing was otherwise sound, and yes the winglets are not necessary to flight, but still.

[Slings and Arrows]

SriLanka Airlines: Helping YOU get a head-start on your next incarnation!

[Jet Jaguar]

ping

[MARTIAL MONK]

Holy cow! Did it STILL fly????

Who knows? They didn't get to try.

[Stoat]

Anyone wishing to send a courteous note to Sri Lankan Airlines complimenting them on their exemplary attention to operational safety is welcome to do so here:

SriLankan Airlines - Contact Us - Feedback Centre

(hopefully I don't need to add a "sarcasm" tag.......)

[LibFreeOrDie]

They ought to rename it Bumblebee Airlines:

“We’re Not Supposed to Be Able to Fly, But We Do!”

“Breaking the Laws of Aerodynamics Since 2007”

Or how about:
“On a Wing(tip) and a Prayer”

[dalereed]

Rutan’s Global Explorer tore off a wing tip on takeoff from Mojave and made it all the way around the world non stop.

[xsrdx]

The article is misleading, the shredded winglet on the ground is from the 747. The SLA A340s wing doesn’t look damaged, so not sure where the reference to “wing tip” came from.

[Scotsman will be Free]

What kind of Piper do you have? I soloed in a Tri Pacer.

[Stoat]

Thank you very much for pinging your list   :-)

 

[bill1952]

I have a couple of Pipers; The Warriors for training, and a Commanche for myself.

No tail draggers though.

[BwanaNdege]

Good answer!

Drag & fuel consumption would go up, but safety should not have been compromised.

[bill1952]

Sorry, that should have read “no Tri Pacers”, not no tail draggers.

[DugwayDuke]

Before you get too excited. 747’s flew for years without those wing tips.