A Virgin Atlantic Airbus A330-300 aircraft (Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images) and missing wing fasteners (Kennedy News and Media)
Virgin Atlantic canceled a New York-bound flight to conduct additional maintenance checks after a passenger spotted parts missing from the aircraft’s wing.
The U.K.-based carrier initiated the checks last week after a passenger told the flight crew about several absent bolt fastener tops, according to the Manchester Evening News, which first reported the flight’s cancellation.
A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson told FOX Business that the airline canceled the flight “to provide time for precautionary additional engineering checks, which allowed our team the maximum time to complete their inspections.” The plane, an Airbus A330, was scheduled to fly from Manchester, England, to New York City.
The team that conducted the inspections found the tops of four out of the 119 fasteners on the wing panel were missing, according to Virgin Atlantic. Workers eventually installed new fasteners as replacements.
RICHARD BRANSON ON VIRGIN ATLANTIC’S SUSTAINABLE FUEL FLIGHT: ‘IT CAN BE DONE’
“The safety of our customers and crew is always our top priority and this was not compromised at any point,” Virgin Atlantic told FOX Business. “We always work well above industry safety standards and the aircraft is now back in service.”
READ ON THE FOX BUSINESS APP
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON FOX BUSINESS
VIRGIN ATLANTIC CEO SAYS LEISURE TRAVEL REMAINS ROBUST, EXPECTS TO RETURN TO PROFITABILITY IN 2024
“The panel in the image is a secondary structure panel, used to improve the aerodynamic performance of the aircraft,” Neil Firth, an Airbus local chief wing engineer for the A330, said in a statement. “Each of these panels has 119 fasteners so there was no impact to the structural integrity or load capability of the wing, and the aircraft was safe to operate.”
Original article source: New York-bound flight canceled after passenger sees parts missing from wing
News Related-
Russian court extends detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Gershkovich until end of January
-
Russian court extends detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, arrested on espionage charges
-
Israel's economy recovered from previous wars with Hamas, but this one might go longer, hit harder
-
Stock market today: Asian shares mixed ahead of US consumer confidence and price data
-
EXCLUSIVE: ‘Sister Wives' star Christine Brown says her kids' happy marriages inspired her leave Kody Brown
-
NBA fans roast Clippers for losing to Nuggets without Jokic, Murray, Gordon
-
Panthers-Senators brawl ends in 10-minute penalty for all players on ice
-
CNBC Daily Open: Is record Black Friday sales spike a false dawn?
-
Freed Israeli hostage describes deteriorating conditions while being held by Hamas
-
High stakes and glitz mark the vote in Paris for the 2030 World Expo host
-
Biden’s unworkable nursing rule will harm seniors
-
Jalen Hurts: We did what we needed to do when it mattered the most
-
LeBron James takes NBA all-time minutes lead in career-worst loss
-
Vikings' Kevin O'Connell to evaluate Josh Dobbs, path forward at QB