
Passenger fixes faulty airliner - vaksel
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/glasgow_and_west/8136193.stm
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brk
Pretty cool story.

I once fixed a faulty first class seat on an NWA red-eye flight. The metal pin
that held it in the upright position broke, causing it to fall all the way in
the lap of the person directly behind it. Was an almost-full flight and they
were going to have to get a duct-tape maintenance guy to bodger it up. I
managed to secure it with a seatbelt extender and something else (bit of a
ballpoint pen I think).

Anyway, was kind of cool, and earned me a free bottle of wine to carry off the
plane, on top of the regular drinks consumed on the flight.

~~~
oldgregg
Well then, MacGyver.

~~~
vaksel
is that a quote from the MacGyver show or did you mean to say Well done,
MacGyver?

~~~
oldgregg
Wasn't a quote, but considering his alcohol consumption, maybe it should have
been well then, MacGruber.

~~~
brk
LOL. I fixed the chair before takeoff, so it was pre-alcohol. I was trying to
work a MacGruber comment in there somehow though, so thanks for that.

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Hexstream
More like: "Aircraft engineer fixes faulty airliner"... Nothing spectacularly
newsworthy in there IMHO.

I guess it just triggers every expert's dream of being able to unexpectedly
save the day in a timely manner while off-duty.

~~~
gaius
Stand back! I know regular expressions!

~~~
rbanffy
<http://xkcd.com/208/>

~~~
dennisgorelik
The comments are better than the original article :-)

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jacquesm
I'd rather have the mechanic fly on the same plane than remain on the tarmac
any day.

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johnohara
<i>"It was reassuring to know the person who had fixed it was still on the
aeroplane. What are the odds of something like that happening?"</i>

Between fare discounts for employees, the need to shuttle mechanics to where
planes need fixing, the total number of airports and the overall popularity of
the 757, I'd say pretty good.

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jonah
Reminds me of the recent story about the airman spotting a massive fuel leak
from his seat over the wing. <http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123149266>

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dmfdmf
I was on our high school football team and once we were going to another
school by bus for a game and along the way there was a loud bang and the
engine died and we were stuck on the side of the freeway. The driver and
coaches were clueless and soon were saying we probably would not make it to
the game in time and would have to forfeit. One of my teammates stepped up and
said he worked as a diesel mechanic over the summer and asked to take a crack
at the problem. Most of us were skeptical that he could do anything about it
(and there may or may not have been bets placed on the outcome ;-)...
amazingly, and to this kid's credit, he got it running again in about 15min
with only pliers and a screw driver. So we made it to the game in time and
won.

