Virgin Atlantic flight bound for NYC cancelled when passenger spots missing bolts on wing

the 4 missing bolts in question

Not sure which part is more concerning, the missing bolts or that a random passenger had to catch it.

Anyone here who doesn’t have extra parts leftover when they put their stuff back together should speak up now.

I’d be curious to hear from our resident pilots on this one regarding if there are certain allowances for X number of bolts to be missing while retaining integrity of that part of the plane etc. … surely there’s redundancy built into the design. Not to say that’s the case in this instance, but I remember when plane tape went viral because people didn’t understand what it was or how it was used. Underinformed people panicking sells clicks and I’m guessing with public perception being what it is, airlines are trying to avoid passenger panic at all costs, even if it requires canceling a flight for something that happens all the time.

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I’d be curious to hear from our resident pilots on this one regarding if there are certain allowances for X number of bolts to be missing while retaining integrity of that part of the plane etc. … surely there’s redundancy built into the design. Not to say that’s the case in this instance, but I remember when plane tape went viral because people didn’t understand what it was or how it was used. Underinformed people panicking sells clicks and I’m guessing with public perception being what it is, airlines are trying to avoid passenger panic at all costs, even if it requires canceling a flight for something that happens all the time

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Probably worth noting that X missing bolts, and X missing bolts right in a row would different design considerations/stress calculations.

Here you go.

Smart to cancel the flight because if you notice one glaringly overlooked area, there are likely more.

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missing bolts

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Probably somewhere on Epstein Island.