Airport scare: ‘Lucky he had a f**king screwdriver’
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A CAPTAIN'S announcement on-board a Qantas flight was the last thing a plane load of passengers wanted to hear right before takeoff.
On Wednesday passengers on Qantas flight QF2301 from Mackay to Rockhampton heard an unsettling message.
"The pilot informed us he had to climb onto the wing to tighten and replace a screw," one passenger James Fern wrote on Facebook.
"(It's) lucky he had a f**king screwdriver."
A Qantas Link spokesman confirmed the pilot was called to tighten a screw on the cowling, the removable covering on the plane's engine.
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While it was not unusual the pilot would be called to this type of maintenance duty, the Qantas spokesman did say it was surprising they would announce it to customers.
"This was a case of the pilot acting in accordance with their training and in consultation with our engineering teams," he said.
"The pilot made a PA to let the customers know what was happening just in case they were wondering why he wasn't in the cockpit."
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He said the maintenance issue was noticed by the Qantas crew in the pre-flight inspection, and the pilot was approved to fix the loose fastener.
