# Part of wing missing -- "We Know About This" **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 9, 2012, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/part-of-wing-missing-we-know-about-this/630950 "2012-08-09T13:47:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2012, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/part-of-wing-missing-we-know-about-this/630950/1 "2012-08-09T13:47:43Z")
This would fill _ME_ with confidence > [@](#): > > While aboard an Alaska Airlines flight leaving Burbank, Calif. bound for Seattle, Wash., a passenger looked out a window to see a handwritten message scrawled on what appeared to be a damaged area of the plane’s wing. > > “We know about this,” the note said. Below the message, an arrow pointed down to a portion of the wing that appeared to be missing. > > The passenger took a picture and uploaded it to social news website Reddit under the name Boeing247. > **[Yahoo News: Latest and Breaking News, Headlines, Live Updates, and More](https://news.yahoo.com/)** > > The latest news and headlines from Yahoo News. Get breaking news stories and in-depth coverage with videos and photos. Well, that’s a relief – someone knows about part of the wing being missing. One would hope it was the ground crew and the flight crew. But at least _somebody_ knows! ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2012, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/part-of-wing-missing-we-know-about-this/630950/2 "2012-08-09T13:51:35Z")
I think we just witnessed an internet meme being born. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2012, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/part-of-wing-missing-we-know-about-this/630950/3 "2012-08-09T13:55:19Z")
I saw this yesterday. It reminded me of a _Far Side_ cartoon depicting a nervous airline passenger eyeing a toggle switch that’s labeled ‘Wings fall off/Wings stay on’. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2012, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/part-of-wing-missing-we-know-about-this/630950/4 "2012-08-09T14:35:54Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I saw this yesterday. It reminded me of a _Far Side_ cartoon depicting a nervous airline passenger eyeing a toggle switch that’s labeled ‘Wings fall off/Wings stay on’. [This one?](http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn98/hiiyah777/?action=view¤t=wingsye5.jpg&newest=1) Yeah, I assume that the note was a joke and the plane is supposed to be like that, right? It’s just that they thought it might be funny to scribble that on there. Or is that chip actually a chip out of the plane? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2012, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/part-of-wing-missing-we-know-about-this/630950/5 "2012-08-09T14:40:46Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > [This one?](http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn98/hiiyah777/?action=view¤t=wingsye5.jpg&newest=1) > > Yeah, I assume that the note was a joke and the plane is supposed to be like that, right? It’s just that they thought it might be funny to scribble that on there. > > Or is that chip actually a chip out of the plane? From the article cited in the OP: > [@](#): > > Alaska Airlines spokeswoman Bobbie Egan said that the photo showed a permanent approved trim repair to the corner flap of the right wing, and that the plane was absolutely safe to fly. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2012, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/part-of-wing-missing-we-know-about-this/630950/6 "2012-08-09T14:43:10Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > [This one?](http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/nn98/hiiyah777/?action=view¤t=wingsye5.jpg&newest=1) That’s the one. It’s different from the way I remember it, but that’s it. > [@Mahaloth](#): > > Yeah, I assume that the note was a joke and the plane is supposed to be like that, right? It’s just that they thought it might be funny to scribble that on there. > > Or is that chip actually a chip out of the plane? Per the article I read before: > [@](#): > > Spokeswoman Bobbie Egan said Tuesday it was an approved trim repair to the corner flap on the right wing. A maintenance technician wrote to let the flight crew know. > > Egan says, “The message was the result of someone’s good intentions” but the wing note “was not appropriate and did not follow company procedures.” ---
**Author:** ![Capt\_Kirk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@Capt\_Kirk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt_Kirk)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2012, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/part-of-wing-missing-we-know-about-this/630950/7 "2012-08-09T15:00:10Z")
Slight hijack, I was flying from Billings MT to Denver on one of those turboprop commuter planes sitting under the left wing. I look out my window and notice a giant oil stain on the engine cowling as the pilot fires the opposite engine am just about to say something when oily engine fires up and starts to spew massive amounts of oil. We are in the air in seconds. Sure enough we climb for about a minute and oil slows to a trickle and finally stopped but in the meantime we have lost gallons of oil. So we are flying over a remote and very mountainous area, basically the Continental Divide in Wyoming and I am just waiting for the engine to lock up, looking at the ground, thinking I am screwed. We landed ok but really you can’t fix an engine seal before we fly almost the worst flight ever. **CAPT** ---
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2012, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/part-of-wing-missing-we-know-about-this/630950/8 "2012-08-09T18:06:56Z")
From the linked article, the Alaska Airlines spokesperson said, “The small indent shown in the photo was reported multiple times in multiple flight crew reports.” I’m sure the mechanics were sick of saying, “It’s fixed!” over and over again, and placed the text on the wing to tell the air crew, “We know about it, so shut up already!” ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2012, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/part-of-wing-missing-we-know-about-this/630950/9 "2012-08-09T18:49:00Z")
Frankly, without that little hand-scrawled note, I never would have thought anything was ‘missing’. It looks like a deliberate cut, and I would have figured it was part of the design. And I agree with the internet meme thing; it’s almost too easy! Catholic Church: “We know about this.” Batboy’s Psychologist: “We know about this.” Bioware: “We know about this.” Just about every tech company: “We know about this.” Actually, that’s kinda been done before. “It’s not a bug, it’s an undocumented feature!” ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2012, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/part-of-wing-missing-we-know-about-this/630950/10 "2012-08-09T19:50:22Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > I think we just witnessed an internet meme being born. _ **That plane took an arrow to the wing!** _ Yes? No? Maybe so? ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2012, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/part-of-wing-missing-we-know-about-this/630950/11 "2012-08-09T20:00:24Z")
It’s perfect for There, I Fixed It.