Early Friday morning Rabinowitz sent me a link to a story in
First Post, reporting that an Air India mechanic has been suspended for removing the panel and failing to put it back.
That's a little premature.
Regardless of what we might think, the media in general, and that article you quote in particular, haven't so far alleged that the panel was removed and not refitted.
In fact that
First Post article specifically talks about
:
"the panel which fell off a Delhi-Bangalore Air India flight last Saturday"
"a panel on a Boeing 787′s fuselage flew off when the aircraft was winging its way from Delhi to Bangalore"
"This latest incident of a panel falling off the brand new Dreamliner aircraft"
They'll get there in the end, I have no doubt. But not yet:
Investigations have since revealed that the 8-foot x 4-foot panel, part of the plane's belly, had been secured with only five screws instead of the usual 17.
Leaving aside the fact that they aren't screws, and the photo that the world has seen of the AI 787 underside shows at least 25 fastener receptacles visible, the same article goes on to say:
"According to Air India officials, panels such as the one that came off the Dreamliner are ... tightened with a heavy-duty electric screwdriver using the prescribed torque to keep them locked firmly in place."
Torquing quick-release fasteners ? Now I've heard everything.
After several days of reading the Indian media, my faith in the Daily Mail is restored.
