Panel falls from plane in Japan; 2nd such incident in a week

Flight 123, anyone? Did the thrill wear off and some are back to slacking at such responsibility-demanding positions?

pfaulkne, I have also read elsewhere as wanderlust above, so I am sure the av herald is aware of these. The problem is allegedly a known fault, and the most likely explanation that I have read thus far is vibration on a supporting bracket, causing the screws to undo themselves in flight and the panel to fall off. Not a maintenance fault, apparently. (See Pprune for ongoing thread.)

sf2k: "Poorly designed Boeing products. What else is new"

Maybe, but obviously it's also poor ANA maintenance. We know that JAL cut maintenance back massively a few years ago, and I've not doubt ANA has, too. Could be the greatest airplane in the world, but it wouldn't matter if you don't maintain it properly.

@pfaulkne:

https://japantoday.com/category/national/panel-falls-off-same-ana-plane-2-days-in-a-row

Whether it is a reliable source, I do not know.

Question is: what could have happened if these panels had detached in cruising speed and altitude?

Poorly designed Boeing products. What else is new

The equivalent for metal objects dropped from that height is like finding a blown out truck tire bouncing toward you at high speed.

It was mentioned in the news, that over a period of about 7½ years, domestic airlines filed reports 437 times to the Ministry of L, I & Transport, that something had fallen of their planes. It seems much, till you take in account the sheer amount of flights that take off and land every single day. Of course, in the ideal world, one would prefer to make it back home with all the bolts and nuts still in place, but no planes dropped out of the sky, so were it cars, the equivalent might be like finding a hubcap, taillight or wiper blade along the side of the road.

So, no major inspections of all planes? I guess it would have been different if one of the panels actually killed somebody, which would have been quite easy. If a 3 kilo panel hits you on the head it's gonna splat your head like a melon.

Coincidence or does it often happen for panels to fly of airplanes and we just don't hear about it.?

@wanderlust. Where did you get that information from? The avherald.com would be most interested as they track all commercial flight happenings. Can you please post your reliable sources?

This is the FOURTH incident this month.

On September 7th, at around 7 p.m. on Thursday, Flight 936, a Boeing 767 operated by ANA, landed at Narita International Airport from Xiamen City, China. During the post-flight maintenance inspection, it was discovered that a reinforced plastic panel attached to the fuselage near the left wing had fallen off during the flight, Fuji TV reported. The panel measured 135 by 60 cms and weighed about three kilograms. The panel was replaced.

On Friday at around 5:20 p.m., the same plane arrived at Narita airport from Xiamen City, China, after which it was discovered that the new panel had also fallen off.

The detached panels in the two consecutive incidents have not been located and ANA said it does not know at what point in the flights they fell off.

3 of these were ANA flights from China, the other one was from Osaka.

Nah, it is an AFP file photo of an ANA plane, which is the same airline. But the hedge, pine tree, and clock all give it a touch of realism that might confuse readers into thinking it is the guilty plane.

Is this an actual photo of the actual plane and the actual panel?