Wreckage: Part of one of the wing tips lies on the runway
Posted on 11/03/2007 5:48:45 PM PDT by Stoat
An airline crew faced a rebellion when they told passengers they were going to fly on a jet that had lost its wing tip in a runway crash.
The SriLankan Airlines customers had been on the Airbus A340 a day earlier when it sliced through a wing of a stationary British Airways 747 at Heathrow, delaying departure by 24 hours.
So they were amazed to be boarding the same plane next day for the ten-hour flight to Colombo.
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Wreckage: Part of one of the wing tips lies on the runway
When cabin crew then admitted there was still a 5ft wing tip missing, there was "a minor revolt" as seven passengers demanded to be let off the aircraft.
A further two-hour delay followed as their baggage was removed before the aircraft could take off.
Club-class passenger Ian McKie, 54, from Loughton, Essex, said: "We were put up in hotels the night of the crash and next morning we were told we would be on a different plane that day.
"We only realised that we were actually going on the same aircraft when we got to the Club lounge and saw the plane but without its wing tip."
The former policeman, who was jetting off for a two-week holiday with his partner Gill Stone, 52, added: "On board, the cabin crew admitted that it was the same one as last time and that the tip had been ripped off.
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A closer view shows the broken wing on the BA 747
"They assured us it didn't matter but a number of the passengers insisted that they would rather get on the next flight."
The collision happened shortly after 10pm two weeks ago when the BA011 flight to Singapore was waiting on a runway, followed by the SriLankan Airbus.
The SriLankan aircraft wing ripped through the BA flight's wing, tearing off a huge chunk and resulting in the BA jumbo being grounded.
SriLankan Airlines insisted there was no danger in flying without a wing tip.
It added: "They are purely for aerodynamics and to keep fuel costs to a minimum. There is no impact on safety at all. Safety is our absolute priority."
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?
Sri Lankan Airways Customer Service Ping
Holy cow! Did it STILL fly????
Ping!
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.
All I can say is that I would not fly my Piper with damage like that...
Incredible
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.
ping
Who knows? They didn't get to try.
SriLankan Airlines - Contact Us - Feedback Centre
(hopefully I don't need to add a "sarcasm" tag.......)
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”
Rutan’s Global Explorer tore off a wing tip on takeoff from Mojave and made it all the way around the world non stop.
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.
What kind of Piper do you have? I soloed in a Tri Pacer.
I have a couple of Pipers; The Warriors for training, and a Commanche for myself.
No tail draggers though.
Good answer!
Drag & fuel consumption would go up, but safety should not have been compromised.
Sorry, that should have read “no Tri Pacers”, not no tail draggers.
Before you get too excited. 747’s flew for years without those wing tips.
>but safety should not have been compromised.
Rather famous last words, I would say.
>747’s flew for years without those wing tips.
Yes, but they weren’t torn off by other aircraft kissing wings, were they?
I would not have flown on that AC, either.
I had a Saratoga until I totaled it in Mexico!
I got my license in a Cessna 150 as it had a VOR. The Tri Pacer did not. My wife had a Sukhoi 29 for a few years. What a screamer that bad boy was.
A couple that I was friendly with had a Commanche. I gave them crap about flying a low wing. I can’t recall. Does the Commanche have a metal wing? The Tri Pacer was fabric.
Another example of wingtip assymetry is the Italian built Trecker Gull, a twin engine amphibian which was designed and built with one tip about 6 inches longer than the other, supposedly to offset propeller torque. So, what difference would it make for the Airbus to fly with one "cosmetic" tip missing anyway?
If it had been a United flight out of Denver, the response would have been more like “WHATEVER! Take off already!”
Admit nothing. The FAA is everywhere. LOL.
No sense of adventure. If you lived through it, you would have a good story to tell.
Their purpose is to decrease drag, thereby extending range.Taking them off changes no other performance characteristics.
ping
I’ve had enough “adventure” in aircraft for one life. :)
Yes, all of the Commanches are metal low wings.
Fast and long range with the 90 gallon tank option.
And when I reach the other side
I'll find a place to rest my spirit if I can
Perhaps I may become a highwayman again
Or I may be a single drop of rain
But I will remain
And I'll be back again, and again and again and again and again...
Itazuke Tower, this is Air Force 801
I’m turning on the downwind leg, my prop is overrun
My coolants overheated, the gauge says one-two-one
You better get the crash crew out and get ‘em on the run
Air Force 801, this is Itazuke Tower
I cannot call the crash crew out, this is their coffee hour
You’re not cleared in the pattern, now that is plain to see
So take it on around again; you ain’t no VIP
Let see. You made it 2/3 of the way to your destination. If we prorate your fare, we owe your estate a rebate of $121.17.
Yeah, thank Heaven it wasn't there for cosmetic purposes - that would be serious. LOL
Since the plane has one damaged wing, the passengers should get a 50% fare reduction. It’s only fair.
Reminds me of waiting for Midway Airlines to get a part from another airline, and keeping us apprised of their effort to rustle up a full crew. Someone commented the name should be “Part Way” or “Half Way”. However, we did survive.
I was lucky to see it also.
I was returning from up north over Gorman when they passed me headed for Mojave after their round the world journey.
This is a composite wing isnt it?
What if this thing started to delaminate in flight? How much of the wing are you willing to live without? This was an inexcusable compromise of airline safety. This is one of those situations that would end up on the History Channels ‘Seconds to Disaster’.
The conclusion to the episode would be “The Airbus Corporation issued a directive stating the A380 is no longer allowed to fly with half a wing hacked off”. One of those obvious situations that we would LOVE to find before the plane makes a smoking hole in the middle of your town.
later read
Their purpose is to decrease drag, thereby extending range.Taking them off changes no other performance characteristics.
Are you sure? I thought the winglets increased stability, and cut down on wing-tip vortices, which are a danger to any craft landing or taking off behind them.
It’s going to be a bit unbalanced with a wingtip on one side and not on the other. Nothing that can’t be corrected for through control inputs, of course. But it does leave rather less margin than was originally designed for.
A commercial aircraft is a fully tested design, and has to go through a lot of redundant trials in any configuration that is to be certified. I would be really surprised if the folks at Boeing bothered to certify the aircraft with only one wing-tip.
So certification is out the window. These people were being asked to fly on the World’s Biggest Experimental. Not that it can’t be done safely... but it just isn’t done.
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