Flying on a Partial Wing and a Prayer? Passengers Say No

Let's hear it for assertive airline passengers!

London's Daily Mail reports that passengers at London's Heathrow Airport revolted when they were scheduled to fly on an airplane with its wingtip missing.

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.

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.  . . . .  On board, the cabin crew admitted that it was the same one as last time and that the tip had been ripped off.  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."

I espcially like some of the comments at the Daily Mail:

Apart from missing the wing tip, would you fly with a pilot who cannot even steer his plane on the ground without hitting another one?

- Bk, Edinburgh

There could have been all sorts of stresses throughout the whole wing. I would not fly on that plane until it had been repaired by the manufacturer. I think ground mechanics are not qualified to declare the aircraft safe.

- Ray B, Newcastle upon Tyne, England.

When I pay 100% of the airfare, 100% of the plane is a minimum requirement.

- Et, New Iberia,LA,USA