Fixing Airliner with Gaffer Tape

[AlexEvans]

I came across this and wondered if a professional would like to comment on it.

I would be very scared to be on board!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3srEUzISC0

[Jonty]

Its called speed tape (I think), and is used alot cover minor cracks and stuff of a nonstructral nature.

Dont worry its perfectly safe. Its not duck tape, its alot sronger.

[North Stand Tier3]

Speed tape is indeed used for running repairs but purely to prevent water ingress or to allow sealant cure beneath it.It has no structural integrity.Structural Repair Manuals tend to allow it for the above reasons but with strict limits to the damage allowed beneath and deadlines to repairing that damage.Not sure what they were using it for on that Airbus flap,maybe the Tech Log would tell us.......I'll get me coat

[11Fan]

Greetings,

Go take a look over here fellas.

http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=258887

[apaddyinuk]

At the risk of being accused of being un "pc" I am not really surprised to see that occuring in India!

But must admit, I love gaffer tape, great for all those annoying little mishaps that occur in the cabin during a flight..Carpets that start to curl, toilet/crew rest doors that refuse to stay closed, overhead bins that pop open all the time etc etc!!! Next best thing to having a full time engineer onboard! LOL!

[Krystal n chips]

I can say, with all sincerity, that such an event would never be allowed to happen in the UK------can you imagine any airline beancounter sactioning the amount of man power involved in the clip on any UK line operation ! ;)

[Dr Illitout]

Good stuff speed tape, it held my car exhaust together for six months once!

Rgds Dr I

[Noah Zark.]

At least they didn't use a hammer and nails to hold the tape on! :}

[Bus429]

The point is not whether the high-speed tape can do the job; I would ask the engineers whether the SRM permits such a temporary repair in that location. Being composite, any water ingress could cause a lot of grief to a flap assembly.

[Double Zero]

We used to use speed tape now & again on such things as camera pods on Harrier trials; it is very sticky & strong, but high speed at low alt' soon upsets it !

Would never dream of using it on a control surface, let alone on an airliner, unless in absolute extremis. For some people of course that would mean time & money...

The Indians have an 'inventive' approach, I was sent pics of an electrical distribution socket in a hangar subject to flooding - answer, screw on a large block of wood so it floats ! No thought of waterproofing the hangar.

Also chums were taken out to the a/c carrier in a helo which had suffered a major birdstrike on the canopy ; answer, chain-drill each side of the full height split, and lace it with electrical wire !

Despite all that, and the appalling record of the air force, the Indian Navy has proven extremely effective and has an excellent safety record with their Sea Harriers - some people I knew who were there reckoned they had the edge on the R.N, as they were less pre-occupied with B.S. & traditions.

[glhcarl]

All they are doing is taping the rub strip in place. Rub strips are always coming adrift, standard procedure is to apply new adhesive and tape it in place until the adhesive dries. There is no safety of flight involved.

[Dr Illitout]

Also chums were taken out to the a/c carrier in a helo which had suffered a major birdstrike on the canopy ; answer, chain-drill each side of the full height split, and lace it with electrical wire !

I have seen that type of repair scheme for helicopter windscreens before. On both British and American helicopters. It's not dodgy, just a temp repair on a bit of plastic that keeps the wind out. To change a windscreen in the field or on a carrier would be a BIG job, if you had one. The simple option is to stop it cracking any more, keep the rain out and repair it at the next base visit.
Just because it was on an Indian helicopter is irrelevant.

Rgds Cking

[Bus429]

glhcarl,

Rubstrip only, fair enough, but my question - and I hold EASA Part 66 and CASA ratings on the A320 (admittedly as an avionics engineer!) - is the repair specifed in the SRM or Chapter 20? Just because maintenance staff judge it to be OK does not mean it is.

[glhcarl]

bus429,

I don't know never worked on a A320. In a case like this rub strip you have a choice, you could tape it down, you could remove it completly, you could remove it and reinstall a new rub strip, you could remove and replace the flap. We don't know what the situation was, but someone figured out that taping the rub strip in place was the correct fix for this situation. I haven't heard o an A320 crashing in India because a flap failed because someone did an un-authorizied repair to a rub strip so i guess they made the right decision.