Man up! You Don't Need Wing Tips!

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So, let's say you're a passenger on British Airways. You've just buckled your seatbelt and turned off your electronic devices as the B747 patiently waits to taxi. Crash! What the? We're not even moving. You look out the window. "Whoopsie-daisy! My bad. Sorry guys." The Sri Lanken Airlines pilot backs up his A340 jet that has just crashed into the wing of the plane you're sitting on. Shit. No one is injured but now the 747 that you're buckled into has no wing-tip. This plane is not going anywhere anymore.

You are now delayed in London for another 24 hours. As you drift off to sleep in the complimentary hotel provided by the airline you count your blessings, "Dear Powers That Be, thank you for not killing me today in a fiery plane crash. Although I'm inconvenienced, I'm grateful that it was only a fender-bender. I'm confident that tomorrow will be better. The airline promised us a new plane in the morning. Amen."

Good morning! You're on your way back to Heathrow airport. You've slept off the frustration of the crashing and delay of the day before. You board the little segway onto the plane. You're a Club Class member (equivalent to business class in America.) You order a sparkling water from the waitress and look out the window.

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What the fuck? Is this a joke? You lean in for a closer look.

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Nope. It's not a joke! You're sitting on the very same jet that you de-planed 24 hours ago. You remember that plane! It's the one that the Sri Lanken Airlines jet crashed into. Don't mind that missing wing tip! Just enjoy your 10-hour flight to Columbo.

This actually happened.

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According to the Daily News:

"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.

Minor revolt? Wow. What did these passengers do?

[Club-class passenger Ian McKie said] "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."

Wow! Asking to be let off a plane, that's quite a revolt. I'm riveted.

Wouldn’t you get off the plane? I would. Even though Sri Lankan Airlines insisted there was no danger in flying without a wing tip.

"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."

That's great. I'm sure that's true. Again, I'm rational. I understand that I don’t know shit about how planes work. But I'm used to not seeing planes with hunks ripped off of them. Couldn’t they at least have filed the wing-tip down so it didn’t have to look so damaged? I wouldn’t mind a short wing-tip, just even it out a little bit. There is something to be said for feeling psychologically sound on a flight. I can't imagine looking out the window at the majesty of Earth and oh, damn it, there's that ripped off wing staring me in the face again. Breathe. Breathe.

In the comments section of this Daily Mail article one pilot voiced his opinion:

I'm an airline pilot. The crew is absolutely correct. The missing chunk is a winglet, which is entirely different than the wing. It's just a hunk of material curved upward at the end of the wing to minimize induced drag and save fuel. Airplanes flew without them for decades.

I'd have flown this jet.

- Ivan, Richmond, VA

And Ivan and the passengers who didn’t de-plane are of course, right. The plane landed safely and that wing-tip was as useful as an appendix. But I think I'm going to continue to be a wimp who exercises her option to "revolt."

SleepyLady is a reformed fearful flyer but she does have her limitations.

web address: http://suicidegirls.com/news/all/22622/Man-up-You-Dont-Need-Wing-Tips/