AADFW

On a (very) recent flight from DAL to SFO, a Y passenger tried to fit a bag that was too large in the overhead bin and managed to break the locking mechanism. So, we were all forced to wait while a mechanic drove in from DFW with -- wait for it -- DUCT TAPE to secure the broken bin. It took Bob the DFW Skywest mechanic less than 60 seconds to complete the "repair" which consisted of taping the bin shut, followed by mountains of paperwork. You truly cannot make this stuff up!

The flight attendant doled out snacks in F, but naturally this being AS/Skywest, he did not bother with pre-departure beverages in spite of the over one hour delay.

One more of these DAL trips and I'm probably done with AS... not to say that AA is great, but they are at least resource deep at DFW. The convenience of a much shorter drive to Love over DFW has not proven worthwhile for all the many shortcomings I've endured with this airline.

djp98374

to be fair this is a contract route flown by Skywest on I think smaller 2x2 aircraft and its something the PAX brome…not a typical maintenance item.

your story does remind me of an incident last year…I flew on AA flight out of DCA. An aircraft had a bad landing and blew tires. It caused a delay to evacuate the plane, tow the plane, then clean. When they went to clean the airport didn’t have the equipment so they had to request something from off airport.

sfozrhfco

At least it was not a mainline plane as you would have had to wait for the duct tape to be flown in from SEA...LOL

AADFW

This made me LOL and provided some much needed comic relief. Thank you!

zkzkz

You know this is special aviation rated duct tape

Not entirely facetious, it could be https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_tape which "has an appearance similar to duct tape, for which it is sometimes mistaken"

WillTravel4Food

Speed tape is in general not for use inside the plane. It's a special product that stands up to wind and the elements. It's super sticky, and doesn't chemically degrade the underlying components. In addition, it is used mostly for aerodynamics only. It does not hold significant weight. It holds aerodynamic pieces in place to eliminate/prevent drag that could cause parts to separate from the plane while in flight. Using speed tape to hold together a luggage bin would be overkill, and a very expensive alternative to plain old duct tape.

Taping and placarding a bin as inoperable is part of following the Minimum Equipment List (MEL) rules to enable departure. For every plane type in their fleet, an airline has an MEL that allows it to operate when selected parts/devices is inoperable. The plane can safely operate with an inoperative bin, but with restrictions such as nothing being stored in that bin.

FlyerDigits

AADFW what happened to the passenger guilty of breaking the bin?

AADFW

As far as I could tell, nothing at all. Certainly nobody was made to deplane.

ashill

I had an hour-long delay at PHL a few years ago waiting for the contracted mechanic (from Delta) to drive over to label a lav as INOP (can't remember whether it was duct tape or masking tape he used). Flight crew apparently aren't allowed to label the lav inop. I got the impression that Delta was very not eager to help Alaska out. I think this was a flight in which we had taxied to the runway and then went back to the gate to "fix" this issue.

rustykettel

I've had the duct tape bin fix on AA before. Was at LAX and while the mechanic response time was shorter, the paperwork took just as long.

notquiteaff

So… hypothetically, if a passenger had had a roll of duct tape in their carry on, could the FA have secured the bin with it? Or does it require special AS/Skywest tape applied by a certified mechanic?

AADFW

The FA told me that AS was having difficulty with Maintainence contracting at DAL hence the need to have the “official” maintenance person drive in from DFW.

jrl767

someone with current experience in operations and maintenance can confirm, but to the best of my recollection a certified mechanic has to perform the repair, and a certified inspector has to sign off for verification before the captain can accept the aircraft for flight

mtofell

For some reason with this knowledge I think I'm going to worry more while flying in the future.

ashill

I think/imagine one has to have mechanic knowledge of the documentation procedures so that the right people (eg maintenance wherever the airplane is next overnighting) know to properly fix it more than needing special knowledge of how to apply duct tape (since an unsecured bin is a real safety hazard).