A Little 'Speed Tape' Goes A Long Way

Gail Sydow got a big surprise when her 11-year old son Josh said, "Look, Mommy. There’s a big hole in the wing and the man is trying to fix it."

When she looked out the window, she could not believe her eyes – a maintenance person was on the airplane’s wing and was "patching" it up with what looked like silver duct tape.

Sydow and her family had been on holiday on a cruise ship, which had docked in Durban, South Africa. They then caught a kulula.com flight from Durban to Cape Town, with a stopover in Port Elizabeth, reports the Pretoria News.

"I believe there was a passenger getting off and one getting on in Port Elizabeth," Sydow said. "While we waited, Josh was looking out the window. When he urged me to look, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing."

"It was a big hole, like five hands. I had just been on a cruise and so I had my camera with me and I took pictures," said Sydow.

At that point, a man seated in front of them heard what they were talking about and asked to speak to the pilot, according to Sydow.

"The pilot said that was how he was given the plane that morning. He said it wasn’t a big deal because he wouldn’t be flying it if it was. That was the only information he offered. Actually, I don’t think he knew much about what was going on. He didn’t announce anything to the passengers."

In light of this, said Sydow, she thought that airlines would take extra precautions and at the very least, not do "patch up" jobs in full-view of the passengers.

The South African Civil Aviation Authority was well aware of the incident. Phindiwe Gwebu, CAA spokesperson, said the hole was not in the wing.

"The picture shows an engine nacelle strut, which is used to attach the engine to the wing," she said. "The ‘hole’ shown is a nacelle strut access door... The approved aircraft configuration deviation list allows for one door to be missing with negligible effect on the aircraft performance.

Gwebu added, "The aircraft was dispatched in accordance with approved procedures. The CAA has been informed that the technician decided to close the hole with special aviation high speed tape for aesthetic purposes."

The Kulula.com fleet consists of Boeing 737-200s and 737-400s, and McDonald Douglas MD-82s.

Kulula.com has operated since August 2001. The company is owned by Comair Limited, which has been in the aviation business for over 60 years.

FMI: www.kulula.com