UK resident Phil Hardy was all set to fly to New York with his partner Magdalena Bobusia for his first holiday abroad in 14 years when he noticed an issue with the plane. Hardy expressed concerns about missing bolts on one of the plane's wings, which led to the Virgin Atlantic flight getting cancelled.
The 41-year-old claimed that after bringing up the matter with Virgin Atlantic employees, he was informed repeatedly by both the engineer and the crew that there was no wing issue, reported The Mirror.
"I noticed the four screws missing during the safety briefing. I could see all the fixings on the wing, and they were all white, and I could see the crossheads on the screws, and then there were just four that were black," Hardy told The Mirror. (Also Read: IndiGo passenger shares 'late-night scenes' from airport after flight delay)
He also added, "I'm a good flyer, but my partner was not loving the information I was telling her and starting to panic, and I was trying to put her mind at rest as much as I could."
However, since the issue was not fixed, the VS127 aircraft to John F. Kennedy International Airport was cancelled, forcing all of the passengers to deplane.
{{/usCountry}}However, since the issue was not fixed, the VS127 aircraft to John F. Kennedy International Airport was cancelled, forcing all of the passengers to deplane.
{{/usCountry}}Virgin Atlantic inspection crew discovered that four of the 119 fasteners on the wing panel had missing caps. Eventually, workers replaced the old fasteners with new ones. (Also Read: Air India flyer appalled over ‘veg meal with chicken pieces’; airline apologises)
A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson told FOX Business that the airline cancelled the flight "to provide time for precautionary additional engineering checks, which allowed our team the maximum time to complete their inspections. The safety of our customers and crew is always our top priority, and this was not compromised at any point. We always work well above industry safety standards and the aircraft is now back in service".