Dramatic scenes unfolded on November 15 around a flight from Gdansk (Poland) to Vienna. The airliner likely took off with heavily frozen wings, posing a huge safety risk. In addition, the captain allegedly snapped at a frightened passenger who wanted to draw attention to the problem and even threw him off the plane!
The local aviation magazine “Austrian Wings” reports on the incredible and dangerous incident: according to this report, a Boeing 737 was supposed to have taken off from the airport in Gdansk in mid-November, although the wings were heavily frozen.
There are extremely “strict guidelines for the obligation to defrost”, according to “Austrian Wings”. The aircraft is treated with de-icing agents before take-off to prevent possible functional failures. In this particular case, it concerns an almost six-year-old Boeing 737-800, which is de jure operated by the Polish Ryanair subsidiary “Buzz”.
Pilots rate the icing as unacceptable
After boarding, there was a clearly recognizable layer of ice or snow on the left wing, which even covered parts of the slats and control surfaces, as can also be seen in a photo. The condition of the left wing, according to “Austrian Wings”, independent of five different airline pilots, makes defrosting before takeoff absolutely necessary!
Kapitän: “This is my plane!”
However, no defrosting took place. The flight went ahead anyway. Fortunately, the journey to Vienna and the landing in Schwechat went smoothly. But that’s not all: After the machine reached its parking position and the engines were turned off, a passenger insisted on talking to the captain. The pilot emerged from the cockpit moments later and addressed the passenger in English. “When I asked the captain about the contaminated wing and wanted to know why it hadn’t defrosted, the man raised his voice, yelled at me and said, ‘This is my plane!’ literally from the plane,” the platform quotes the passenger.
Report to Austria Control
In principle, every pilot is obliged to carry out an “outside check” before the flight and (especially in winter weather conditions) to check the condition of the wings very carefully, according to the aviation magazine. It is unclear why de-icing was not performed. However, “Austrian Wings” is confident that in the present case major safety concerns would have been justified and that the passengers were exposed to a high risk of accidents.
The Ryanair pilot responsible has already been reported to Austrian air traffic control Austro Control. As a rule, they forward the report to the Polish air traffic control authority, since the aircraft in question is registered in Poland.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
