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Ryanair Crew Fixes Pilot's Busted Window With ... Tape

Flight forced to turn around when it, shockers, comes loose

By Matt Cantor, Newser Staff

Posted Oct 24, 2011 9:25 AM CDT

(Newser) – Ryanair crew members used tape to fix a pilot’s window before takeoff—only to turn around when the tape came loose 20 minutes into the flight, the Sun reports. “We were kept in the dark, and were terrified. I could see guys taping in the windscreen with what looked like duct tape or gaffer tape,” said a passenger on the London to Latvia flight. In the air, “the pilot said due to damage on the windscreen, we were going to have to turn back.”

The Irish Aviation Authority said it had finished an investigation into the matter; the tape, the IAA said, was meant to provide extra support to a new window seal. But “this could have been disastrous,” said an ex-pilot. "The pilot could have been sucked out mid-air if the window had come off." Ryanair says it doesn't "comment on routine technical issues," but noted that "all Ryanair flights operate in accordance with approved safety standards."

In this May 10, 2009 file picture, an aircraft by Ryanair is about to take off at the airport in Bremen, northern Germany. (AP Photo/Joerg Sarbach, file)

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Ryanair Crew Fixes Pilot's Busted Window With ... Tape

Flight forced to turn around when it, shockers, comes loose

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