While its likely true that the wing panel was both non-critical and secure, I'd be much more worried that if they missed something like that, that they could have missed any number of other things as well. Isn't there supposed to be some sort of check-list run?

We're going to have to start walking around the plane with the pilot before takeoff like a rental car dent check.

I knew software companies were offloading QA testing onto their paying users, but who would have guessed that passengers would start playing that role too?

Given how completely the airline industry disregards customer service and treats its customers like cattle, I don’t know why anyone would expect them to do a proper job of maintaining equipment. Furthermore, given how eager we are to gut regulation and dismantle the administrative state, all of this is going to just keep getting worse and worse.

British traveler Phil Hardy, 41, was onboard Flight VS127 at Manchester Airport in the UK on Jan. 15 when he noticed the four missing fasteners during a safety briefing for passengers and decided to alert the cabin crew.

“I thought it was best to mention it to a flight attendant to be on the safe side.”

Neil Firth, the Airbus local chief wing engineer for A330, added that the affected panel was a secondary structure used to improve the aerodynamics of the plane.

Hardy said airline staff repeatedly reassured him there was no safety issue with the wing, but his fear was heightened given the recent ordeal in which an Alaska Airlines plane lost its door plug and a chunk of its fuselage flew off mid-flight.

“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,” he said.

“As a precautionary measure, the aircraft underwent an additional maintenance check, and the fasteners were replaced.”

Noteable comments:

The fasteners were not "replaced"....they were now properly included, as per the design. The public is not reassured if you cannot use precise or non-ambiguous language. It's better to state that it was an oversight or be specific: i.e. the design calls for a maximum of 119 fasteners, but allows for a minimum number (x), and thus it was allowed to fly. - tyrionsBeard

Great! So not only do you have to pay extra for a seat, checked bags but you have to check the wings before take off. That man should be credited for their flaw. - Mabel

New York Post is a right wing shitrag like The Daily Mail.

The pilot should’ve walked out onto the wing, slapped a couple lengths of duct tape on that section, then carefully and loudly exclaimed; “ YUP! That baby ain’t goin’ anywhere.” while patting the area firmly.

I imagine a lot of the passengers were pissed off when the flight was cancelled because one of their fellow passengers reported some non-critical bolts were missing.

you can't just screwdriver those things in there man you have to torque them in to the proper spec holy balls

At some point, that part was taken off the plane and it was replaced, or maintenance was done on it, or maintenance was done on something underneath it. It was then replaced. There is a documentation trail that says all of this was fully completed. The documentation was signed off on by someone who was qualified in this task, and/ or by a supervisor who checked it off.

If there is no documentation, or if the documentation indicates something was done that was in fact not done, the CAA/ FAA is going to have a big problem with this. They are sort of interested in how maintenance is done and documented. If they didn't do this right, what else are they/ have they been "pencil whipping?"

I can see a pretty thorough inspection of their maintenance practices and documentation in the near future. If they find a pattern of this, the maintenance gets decertified and the airline can't fly until they are cleared.

So lucky they spotted it. Really makes you think, wouldn't it be good to implement a system of regular professional inspections to deal with stuff like that? /s

Speed holes

NY Post? Be serious, don't post that drama rag here.

Don't worry! There were 119 fasteners being used. Ignore the fact that 4 were missing. The plane was designed to use whatever number of fasteners we want. The amount is just a suggestion

/s

Stealing catalitic converters for money

Stealing bigass phillips screws from planes

--petty theift criminals

If Benny Hill wasn't playing in the background an opportunity was missed.

Seeing how disorganized and chaotic airports are, I'm not surprised.