Hey, a wheel just fell off the aircraft, take a picture

March 3, 2011 By 10 Comments

Perhaps in a pre-digital age, when a wheel fell off an aircraft, passengers would have maybe told the crew, prayed, ordered some whisky, closed their eyes.

Not any more…

Not wanting to miss out on the opportunity to capture a potentially dangerous moment, a passenger on this particular flight took this picture:

wheel

The incident took place in the UK this afternoon, when a Flybe-owned Bombardier Q 400 lost a wheel shortly after take-off from Exeter en route to Newcastle.

The picture was quickly sent to a local TV station in the North East of England and posted on Twitpic.

The aircraft landed safely back at Exeter after spending 90 minutes burning off fuel. The airline confirmed later that the wheel fell off during retraction of the landing gear, 39 passengers and four crew were on-board, and the aircraft made an emergency landing.

Would such a picture have been taken in years gone by, when the instant gratification of knowing it’ll be plastered around social networks and the media within minutes or hours?

Possibly not.

Related posts:

  1. Point a phone in the air and get details on every aircraft in the sky
  2. iPad in-flight entertainment system coming to an aircraft near you
  3. EasyJet slaps on nano technology paint to make aircraft more efficient
Filed Under: News Tagged With: , , , ,
Kevin May About Kevin May

Kevin May is editor of Tnooz. He joined as a co-founder in August 2009 after spending nearly four years as editor of UK-based business publication Travolution.

Passionate about the business of travel and the internet, Kevin played a major role in establishing Travolution in print, online, events and with an annual awards programme, as well as becoming a regular speaker and moderator at industry events.

Prior to Travolution, Kevin was web editor at Media Week (UK) and also worked in regional newspapers for two years at the Essex Enquirer. He started his career in journalism at the Police Gazette at New Scotland Yard in London.

Comments

  1. RobertKCole says:
    March 3, 2011 at 6:17 pm

    Wondering if someone on the ground managed to get a shot with their iPhone before being leveled by the falling wheel?

    Reply
  2. Joel says:
    March 3, 2011 at 6:30 pm

    Not like the old days Kevin, this is what they did in the pre-digital age: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oAzdbd0J2A

    Reply
  3. Jim Kovarik says:
    March 3, 2011 at 6:40 pm

    I hate when that happens

    Reply
  4. Graham says:
    March 3, 2011 at 6:41 pm

    People would have just shown their friends once they got it developed, not really that different, right? Just a way bigger scale. Plus we have hour cameras with us at all times.

    Reply
  5. Tom says:
    March 4, 2011 at 2:50 am

    Well, you published it, didn’t you? :-) There were 11 undercarriage incidents in 2007 with this aircraft. I fly on it, but I think it is unsafe. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/travel/news/article2791962.ece

    Reply
  6. Anon says:
    March 4, 2011 at 10:22 am

    Of course it would have been taken, and immediately flogged to the newspapers.

    Reply
  7. Timothy O'Neil-Dunne says:
    March 5, 2011 at 4:19 pm

    And then of course there was the Nationwide 737 that lost an engine on take off – literally…

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-492486/Engine-falls-passenger-plane-takeoff.html

    Must have been a bit disconcerting

    Cheers

    Reply
  8. Millie Smith says:
    March 6, 2011 at 3:42 pm

    Wow what an amazing picture and also slightly scary for those onboard. I’m pleased that all were OK but what a nerve wracking 90 minutes circling and wondering what will happen…

    Reply

Speak Your Mind

*