Enlarge image
A plane belonging to the British airline Virgin Atlantic: A flight had to be canceled shortly before takeoff
Photo: Ted S. Warren / AP
British airline Virgin Atlantic had to cancel a flight from Manchester to New York at the last minute last week after passengers became aware of missing screws on the plane.
The Brit Phil Hardy and his partner Magdalena Bobusia noticed during the safety briefing that fasteners were missing from the plane's wings - and then informed the staff on board.
"I thought it would be better to tell a flight attendant just to be on the safe side," Hardy said in an interview with the New York Post.
Engineers were immediately called to carry out maintenance work on the Airbus A330.
No threat to safety
A video from Hardy shows one of the engineers working on the plane's wing with a screwdriver.
According to the New York Post, both Virgin Atlantic and Airbus emphasized that despite the missing fasteners there was no risk to the safety of the aircraft.
However, the flight was canceled to carry out additional safety checks and to give engineers enough time for their inspections.
Passengers were offered alternative flights to New York.
"We would like to apologize to our customers for the delay in their trip," said a company spokesman.
His statement also said: “The safety of our customers and crew is always our top priority and this was never at risk.
We always work well above the industry’s safety standards.” The machine is now back in use.
lph