If you’ve ever flown before, you realize there are going to be some tense moments. Typically, it is on takeoff or landing or perhaps if you hit some turbulence.
For a group of flyers sitting on the tarmac at Nashville International Airport, however, the nervous moment took place before they even left the gate. When they looked out the window, they saw a maintenance worker applying tape to one of the wings and they took a video.
As you can imagine, this video went viral with many people watching it and many people panicking. It was posted on TikTok, and it blew up very quickly.
The video itself was nerve-racking enough, as you watch a maintenance worker applying tape to a wing. Many commenters were saying they would never fly Spirit again, especially if they have to use tape to hold the plane together.
Another commenter said they would have run off the plane and asked for their money back. Of course, people do tend to be dramatic on social media.
There were some reasonable individuals who came on to explain what we were seeing. According to the Associated Press, it turns out it is a product known as Speed Tape and it is used for making minor repairs on airplanes.
It isn’t only Spirit that uses this tape, every airline uses it at some point or another. It is a special type of tape with aluminum-backed adhesive and is used for quick repairs. It is also used on racecars.
The tape itself is very strong and it is referred to as Speed Tape because it can stick to the plane while traveling very fast. It is able to hold up well under temperatures ranging from -65° to 600°F.
@myhoneysmacks Im only flying southwest now 😤 #spirit #spiritairlines #plane #planecrash #cockpit #airline #flight #fly #scary #omg #mindboggling
Of course, the question is not whether all airlines use speed tape or not. The real question, in my mind, is why is the maintenance worker applying the speed tape in full view of everyone on the plane.
It would be much better if they handled these things before people boarded the aircraft. Then again, we did get a viral video out of it.