Airplane breakdowns

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Barbie jet loses part of wing. Right winglet, picture not clear how much of wing came off.

Dallas-bound flight from Charleston diverted after losing part of wing (msn.com)
Well, from the article it is very clear that the winglet came off and there was not much visible damage to the wing itself. The article title is of course designed to attract more clicks ;)

The title of the thread on airliners.net is more accurate.

https://www.airliners.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1472575
 
Losing a factory installed winglet is a rare event to my knowledge. Although they look small from a typical passenger distance these are large and substantial structures up close. It just so happens that my next flight is scheduled to be an Envoy E175 so I'll keep an eye out to see if this goes anywhere.
 
Losing a factory installed winglet is a rare event to my knowledge. Although they look small from a typical passenger distance these are large and substantial structures up close. It just so happens that my next flight is scheduled to be an Envoy E175 so I'll keep an eye out to see if this goes anywhere.
Better hold on tight to that Winglet :D
 

Well there's your problem

Wonder if there is a corresponding part on an Amtrak locomotive ? LOL !
I think Amtrak is still a generation (or three) away from airfoil speeds so maybe instead of winglets we can get Amtrak to install washlets instead.

If I was sitting on the right side of that plane and saw that, I'd ask the Flight Attendant for a triple CC/7 immediately!
For some reason the FA's always seem to sit down during the really exciting bits, which is why you need to pack a few 50ml minis or 100ml doubles. 🤫
 
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Barbie jet loses part of wing. Right winglet, picture not clear how much of wing came off.

Dallas-bound flight from Charleston diverted after losing part of wing (msn.com)

If I was sitting on the right side of that plane and saw that, I'd ask the Flight Attendant for a triple CC/7 immediately!

I was on a Delta flight from DAY to ATL (MD-88) that experienced really severe turbulence that bounced us around severely and caused sounds that I had have never heard when flying. The pilot warned us a few minutes before this happened, so we were all well buckled tight. But, it was a very apprehensive few minutes for me.
 
Well, from the article it is very clear that the winglet came off and there was not much visible damage to the wing itself. The article title is of course designed to attract more clicks ;)

The title of the thread on airliners.net is more accurate.

https://www.airliners.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1472575
Well, msn.com is a general-audience medium and airliners.net is attuned to aviation enthusiasts. Unlikely that the average msn.com reader would know what a winglet is. Either headline tells the story.
 
So much for the pilot’s assurances during severe turbulence, that the airplane was built to handle it, and it only causes discomfort to the passengers within…🙄

I wonder if it was a design flaw, or a maintenance issue?
 
All the winglet does is improve fuel economy and even that is questionable. Some manufacturers have moved away from them. Like Boeing's 747-800 versus the 747-400.
Wing tip ornaments, whether as winglets or special raking and such actually does help fuel efficiency sufficiently which is why airlines spend the money to install them. The 747-8 wing uses a raked wingtip extension instead of the 747-400 style winglet to get similar effect. This is also seen in the next gen planes like the 787s and A350s. The whole thing has to do with damping wing tip vortex to reduce drag.

There was a time when Boeing had said they will never use wingtip ornaments on any of their aircraft when Airbus started installing wingtip fences on theirs. Then within a year of the grand declaration we saw the 747-400 come out with giant winglets. 😬 Many jokingly said that Boeing figured that it presented a nice surface for the airlines to present their brand colors in flight :D
 
So much for the pilot’s assurances during severe turbulence, that the airplane was built to handle it, and it only causes discomfort to the passengers within…🙄 I wonder if it was a design flaw, or a maintenance issue?
It's also possible that the flight exceeded the winglet's design limits through no fault of the pilots or maintenance crew. We'll just have to see where things go from here.
 
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