Was Damaged In Ground Collision With 747

Passengers told to fly on an aircraft missing a damaged wingtip revolted before flying on the dinged-up jet recently.

The collision happened shortly after 10pm two weeks ago when the BA011 flight, a Boeing 747 to Singapore was waiting on a runway, followed by the SriLankan Airbus A340.

The tip of the SriLankan aircraft's starboard wing ripped through the BA jet's port wing when it taxied by, tearing off a huge chunk of the winglet on the 747. The BA jumbo was grounded overnight.

Passengers were shocked and amazed to be boarding the same plane next day for the 10-hour flight to Colombo, according to the London Daily Mail.

When the cabin crew then admitted there was still a five-foot wing tip missing, there was "a minor revolt" as seven passengers demanded to be let off the aircraft, as reported.

A two-hour delay followed as their baggage was removed before the aircraft could take off.

Club-class passenger Ian McKie, 54, from Loughton, Essex, said: "We were put up in hotels the night of the crash and next morning we were told we would be on a different plane that day.

"We only realized that we were actually going on the same aircraft when we got to the Club lounge and saw the plane, but without its wing tip."

"On board, the cabin crew admitted that it was the same one as last time and that the tip had been ripped off,” said Gill Stone, 52 a former policeman. "They assured us it didn't matter but a number of the passengers insisted that they would rather get on the next flight."

SriLankan Airlines insisted there was no danger in flying without a wing tip.

It added: "They are purely for aerodynamics and to keep fuel costs to a minimum. There is no impact on safety at all. Safety is our absolute priority."

FMI: www.britishairways.com, www.srilankan.aero/