A passenger of Spirit Airlines was horrified when she saw a worker putting some tape on the plane’s wings before takeoff. The encounter was captured in a video.
Alabama-native @myhoneysmacks, a TikTok user, recorded the maintenance work as the aircraft was parked at Nashville International Airport while sitting in her window seat.
“Exactly for this reason, I refuse to fly with Spirit.” She added at the beginning of the 37-second film, “I don’t care if it’s aviation airplane tape or nothing.”
Speed tape is an aluminum-based tape made for temporary and simple aircraft repairs, though it occasionally gets confused with duct tape.
When used appropriately, the material can resist winds of up to 600 mph and harsh environmental changes, an aviation safety consultant told the Washington Post last year.
The video creator was not happy to witness speed tape being used on the wings of the plane, despite the fact that it is safe to use for some repairs.
‘The fact that you even have to tape the plane together, and then you doing it while people are on the flight like we cannot see you? That’s the reason right there that I will not fly with Spirit,’ the passenger said.
‘Now Southwest I can do. But Spirit? No sir,’ she continued. ‘That tape is going to lose its stickiness.
‘You flying all around the world and you got tape holding it together? Baby, no. Don’t even worry about it. I won’t be booking with you.’
‘I’m only flying Southwest now,’ she added in the caption.
Since it was posted two days ago, the video has garnered more than 10,000 comments and has been seen 1.6 million times.
