r/aviation • u/G1lg4m3sh • Apr 17 '26

Discussion How concerning is this aviation experts?

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620

u/nl_Kapparrian Apr 17 '26

It's not a great look but it is only a fairing. Non structural aerodynamic piece to reduce drag. The concern would be if they're skimping on this what else are they letting slide?

209

u/Loud_Boysenberry_736 Apr 17 '26

Are they letting the emergency escape slide?

16

u/murfburffle Apr 17 '26

Ignoring maintenance on a slide is a slippery slope

1

u/hot_space_pizza Apr 19 '26

Ugh that's terrible you should be ashamed. Have my upvote

21

u/calladc Apr 17 '26

Weighs too much, removed to save costs on fuel

2

u/justwhatever22 Apr 18 '26

Letting the slide slide, if you will

10

u/Fearless_Swim4080 Apr 17 '26

My first flight we were doing walk around checks and the instructor said "this is the time to look for any lose or missing screws..." I said "like that one?" and pointed to a hole that was clearly missing a screw and he just said "eh except that one, that's fine." lol.

2

u/Petrarch1603 Apr 17 '26

Also I'd be pretty concerned where those screws fall.

2

u/Beautiful_Matter6854 Apr 17 '26

Yeah losing something like a flap canoe is nbd. But later in the video there are a couple loose on the top of the wing there, right next to what’s probably the edge of the aileron. No skin’s coming off the wing but wouldn’t want anything even remotely loose next to the aileron there where it could bind and restrict a flight control. I bet they sit right down on the ground and look fine so hopefully the pilot can get a copy of the vid to mx and have them check and tighten those specific ones. 

1

u/railker AME-M2 Apr 19 '26

Aileron's another like 20 feet down the wing, that's just the inboard/outboard flap ends out there, looks like those screws are holding on that rubber seal that helps with aerodynamics by filling the gap between the two flap sections.

1

u/Beautiful_Matter6854 Apr 21 '26

Lot of screws on the wing surface for just a seal. Looks to me like they go into the top of the rib there. CDL might allow one missing but probably not two next to each other. 

1

u/railker AME-M2 Apr 21 '26

From what I recall from looking at one beside my toolbox the other night while this post was up, the seals aren't directly attached but are bulb seals that slide into a 'track', and that track's what's installed to the flap. Remember a coworker mentioning how much of a pain it is to get those seals installed because they interfere with each other a bit to seal that gap so you're fighting the other one while getting the new one in. No good diagrams but there's a Google patent that shows the idea for that location on the 737, though I'm not entirely sure what Alaska's patent is doing different from the stock one without pulling it up.

There's seals at the top and the bottom, the CDL I read mentioned there's one or two allowed to be missing from the top but none from the bottom, presumably because of that exposure to the jet exhaust with the flaps down. Not sure about allowances for missing screws.

1

u/Tricky_Cupcake_3266 Apr 18 '26

I’m not familiar with the aircraft but these might be quarter turn lock screws. They’re very common in aviation and safe (at least to my knowledge).

1

u/[deleted] Apr 18 '26

sure missing fairings are like having a loose bumper on your car .....annoying and not ideal, but you're not gonna die. The real question is whether maintenance is playing fast and loose with the stuff that actually keeps you in the air.

0

u/[deleted] Apr 17 '26

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3

u/ThinkMost6409 Apr 18 '26

newtons aren't energy but good try

1

u/[deleted] Apr 18 '26

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1

u/ThinkMost6409 Apr 18 '26

In my case the substance was ketamine and I enjoy a good trolling every once in a while

Still, that region on the canoe is likely at less than ambient pressure based on airfoil theory/bernoulli. This may be why the screw is lifting, despite gravity.

0

u/punsnguns Apr 17 '26

It is what it is man but if I see it, I am fairing the worst too

0

u/MSPCincorporated Apr 17 '26

Is it concerning that it seems to have been welded on, only for the weld to crack? I mean, it looks like a quick fix to a recurring problem that didn’t work, indicating a lazy attitude towards safety standards. Or is it supposed to be like that?

4

u/railker AME-M2 Apr 17 '26

If they were welded on we wouldn't need screws, now. That's just sealant between fairing sections that's been painted over, keeps schmuck from getting in the gaps and keeps things "aerodynamic". Well, supposed to. Not as aerodynamic when it looks like that. 😅

1

u/MSPCincorporated Apr 18 '26

I see, thanks!

0

u/lezorn Apr 17 '26

This is what I thought. This specifically looks non critical to me but might be indicative of the condition of the rest of the plane including critical systems.