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Safe trip... really!

E.TE.T Quote-o-matic
[quote]We took an ageing British Airways B757 back from Prague the other week and sat by the window over the wings. Just before take-off I noticed one screw sticking out, and then when we were airborne and had a bit of speed up, another one popped out.[/quote]
[img]http://www.anthonyjhicks.com/ajh/weblog.nsf/0/8B7284DB6990B6F9CA256EE2003D28BF/$file/ba1b.jpg[/img]
:D :p :D

[url]http://www.anthonyjhicks.com/ajh/weblog.nsf/l/8B7284DB6990B6F9CA256EE2003D28BF[/url]

Comments

  • BigglesBiggles <font color=#AAFFAA>The Man Without a Face</font>
    That's some great maintenance. :D
  • David of MacDavid of Mac Elite Ranger Ca
    It's probably best that I wasn't on that flight, given that it scares the crap out of me when the wings so much as wobble a little (and yes, I know they're supposed to do it. That doesn't make me like it)
  • BigglesBiggles <font color=#AAFFAA>The Man Without a Face</font>
    I'm the kind of person who seems to have no trouble trusting in these bizarre feats of physics-law-defiance. :) If there's a problem on the plane, I'll generally be fine. Indeed, on the way back from Taiwan last year the engine right outside my window broke as we were halfway down the runway on take off and they had to abort the take-off, taxi back to the terminal, and wait 2 hours for it to be fixed. Then, on the way home, they flew quite slow (probably in case it broke again) and then on landing they had trouble lining up with the run way and had to abort the first attempt. Most of the people around me had white knuckles, I was sitting there having the time of my life. :)
  • WORFWORF The Burninator
    British Airways, they charge you a small fortune to use and then put you on a flying death trap...

    Worf
  • [QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Biggles [/i]
    [B]I'm the kind of person who seems to have no trouble trusting in these bizarre feats of physics-law-defiance. :) If there's a problem on the plane, I'll generally be fine. Indeed, on the way back from Taiwan last year the engine right outside my window broke as we were halfway down the runway on take off and they had to abort the take-off, taxi back to the terminal, and wait 2 hours for it to be fixed. Then, on the way home, they flew quite slow (probably in case it broke again) and then on landing they had trouble lining up with the run way and had to abort the first attempt. Most of the people around me had white knuckles, I was sitting there having the time of my life. :) [/B][/QUOTE]

    heh, that would be me I think.
    I LOVE FLYING. I'd only be worried if three engines failed (or 75% of them, depending on the craft)
    or if the entire wing fell off...

    otherwise, no problemo. :)
  • SanfamSanfam I like clocks.
    [QUOTE][i]Originally posted by A2597 [/i]
    [B]heh, that would be me I think.
    I LOVE FLYING. I'd only be worried if three engines failed (or 75% of them, depending on the craft)
    or if the entire wing fell off...

    otherwise, no problemo. :) [/B][/QUOTE]

    how exactly does an aircraft have 75% engine failure if it has two engines? :D
  • PhiPhi <font color=#FF0000>C</font><font color=#FF9900>o</font><font color=#FFFF00>l</font><font color=#00F
    Reminds me of a joke... :D
    [QUOTE][i]Blatantly copied from the first site I could find it on:[/i]
      A four-engine aircraft (nevermind what type of aircraft it was!) is over the Atlantic. The pilot announces on the P.A.: "Folks, this is the Captain speaking. We've lost an engine. Do not feel alarmed, we can safely fly on three engines. However, we'll be two hours late reaching our destination." ...
      An hour later, the pilot announces on the P.A.: "Folks, this is the Captain again. We've lost another engine. No need to be alarmed, we can safely fly on two engines. However, we'll be four hours later reaching our destination." ...
      An hour later, the pilot announces on the P.A.: "Folks, Captain again. Engine 3 is dead. Don't panic, we can safely fly on one engine. However we'll have a six-hour delay on reaching our destination." ...
      One annoyed passenger turned to his seatmate and says: "If that fourth engine quits, we'll be up here all night!" [/QUOTE]
  • Random ChaosRandom Chaos Actually Carefully-selected Order in disguise
    Phi: :D
  • BigglesBiggles <font color=#AAFFAA>The Man Without a Face</font>
    [QUOTE][i]Originally posted by A2597 [/i]
    [B]I LOVE FLYING.[/B][/QUOTE]

    Exactly. I should also point out that I spent most of the two hours they were fixing the engine watching it fixed rather than watching the movie they played. I suspect most people would probably request a seat change when the big machine 2m to their left shows signs of blowing up when used.
  • E.TE.T Quote-o-matic
    [QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Sanfam [/i]
    [B]how exactly does an aircraft have 75% engine failure if it has two engines? :D [/B][/QUOTE]
    Maybe little loss of turbine blades? (or compressor)
  • SanfamSanfam I like clocks.
    but that would result in engine failure (or severe imbalance, which would lead to total failure or at least preventive shutdown)
  • E.TE.T Quote-o-matic
    [QUOTE][i]Originally posted by WORF [/i]
    [B]British Airways, they charge you a small fortune to use and then put you on a flying death trap...
    [/B][/QUOTE]
    Wasn't it Brutish Scareways?:p

    [url]http://home.quicknet.nl/mw/prive/bakkerj/funflt1.htm[/url]
  • BigglesBiggles <font color=#AAFFAA>The Man Without a Face</font>
    Loss of turbine blades = severe inbalance in a system that is rotating at 30000rpm = engine rip itself apart.
  • FreejackFreejack Jake the Not-so-Wise
    Yup, pretty much the same effect as injesting some sort of water fowl...

    Jake
  • An ex-SquidAn ex-Squid Elite Ranger
    E.T. : Was that actually on the wing itself, or was that part of the engine pylon? It certainly doesn't look like part of the wing to me.

    BTW, those aren't screws; they're actually quarter-turn fasteners (it only takes a quarter turn of a screwdriver to engage/disengage one). They're usually used on access panels that aren't removed often enough to warrant the use of a quick-release latch and are attached to the panel itself (so there's no danger of the fastener being ingested by an engine if it does come loose).

    Having one or two of these suckers come loose isn't unusual; someone probably was in too much of a rush and didn't turn 'em all the way (it can take a lot of force to turn the damn things, especially if the panel is warped slightly or isn't properly aligned; I've had plenty of experience in that department:rolleyes: ). I would worry if several more came loose on the same panel (or others), though; that'd be a sure sign of poor maintenance (or the need for a thorough inspection and corrective repairs).
  • SanfamSanfam I like clocks.
    Looks like a pylon...though I have not been on a 757 in ages...
  • BigglesBiggles <font color=#AAFFAA>The Man Without a Face</font>
    Did you actually go to the site? It's an engine support.
  • SanfamSanfam I like clocks.
    I was getting a "page not found" error earlier, so no. :D
  • BigglesBiggles <font color=#AAFFAA>The Man Without a Face</font>
    It must have been slashfirstonesed.
  • An ex-SquidAn ex-Squid Elite Ranger
    It's up now, and that was an engine pylon (as I thought...). Like I said, having a couple of fasteners pop loose isn't a big deal nor is it unusual (especially when you consider just how much flexing those pylons are subject to in flight). If a dozen or more fasteners came loose, though, then I [I]would[/I] be worried.
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