Missing wing tip causes passenger revolt

11/04/07 The Daily Mail said Saturday that seven SriLankan Airlines customers
demanded they be allowed to exit the aircraft while it was at the British
airport after they learned it was missing a 5-foot wing tip.

Why do people think that the crew of an airplane would put themselves at risk? What possible motive could they have do something like this? Could it possibly be that the flight crew knows more about flying then the passengers? Can it be that flying an airplane with missing parts is possible and maybe even safe?

















Here's a fine example of just such a thing.

But back to the original story of a missing wingtip. There exists in the world of aircraft a document known as the Configuration Deviation List (CDL). This approved document lists those items of the aircraft that can be missing. The following is a quote from the CDL for the A320. (I don't have access to an A340 CDL but suspect that it is very similar to this one)

One complete wing tip fence may be missing provided:
a) Exposed interior structure is covered with high speed tape,
b) The following performance penalties are observed:
1) Takeoff and approach climb limiting weight is reduced by 4%.
2) Fuel consumption is increased by 1.4%.
c) Wing tip fence is replaced at the earliest maintenance opportunity and mean while, protective material must be inspected before every flight and replaced if necessary, and
d) The one engine inoperative net ceiling is reduced by 300 feet.

As you can see, by making a few allowances in performance calculations, it's perfectly normal and safe to fly the airplane with a missing wingtip.

One other thing...

This picture is floating about the internet allegedly showing the damage to the A-340's wingtip, there's just one problem. The circled items in this picture belong to the British Airways 747 in the background.

So please, everyone relax and don't panic!