Engineer uses tape for a quick fix on an easyJet engine

Startling footage has emerged of an easyJet engineer repairing an engine using tape.

The clip was filmed at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport on Tuesday by a passenger on board a flight to Berlin.

Apparently the pilot announced that there would be a short delay while a quick fix was applied to the engine.

Then a technician climbed up to the engine shell, removed some tape already in place, cleaned the area with alcohol, then laid fresh tape down.

It was reported that the tape had become loose during the flight and rolled backwards.

The filmmaker said: ‘It really seems that the tape was there for mechanical reasons and not just for the looks.’ 

This isn’t the first time that tape has been used for an engine repair on an easyJet aircraft.

In 2015 an image of an engineer applying tape to an easyJet plane went viral.

What is being applied, in both cases, is not duct tape, but speed tape, widely used in aviation to carry out quick repairs on flights.

As Patrick Smith, airline pilot and host of www.askthepilot.com explains, speed tape is ‘extremely durable and is able to expand and contract through a wide range of temperatures’.

Plus, it’s extremely expensive, costing hundreds of dollars per roll. 

In 2015 an image of an engineer applying tape to an easyJet plane went viral

Easyjet told MailOnline Travel: ‘EasyJet occasionally uses this high-speed metallic tape, which is always used in accordance with the approved aircraft manuals and repair processes, and in no way compromises the safety of the aircraft.

‘The safety and wellbeing of passengers and crew is always easyJet’s priority.’  

Commenting on the 2015 photo at the time, a safety expert at the Civil Aviation Authority said: ‘The image appears to show aluminium tape being applied to the aircraft.

‘This tape is used as part of work to make minor repairs and is very common across the aviation sector and has been for many years now.’