Had a pilot in Dallas argue with me that a stripped bolt on his Cessna's cowling 'wasn't a big deal'

Honestly, he kept saying 'it'll hold for the next flight' after I showed him the threads were gone. Has anyone else had to deal with a pilot who just didn't want to hear the facts?

2 comments

2 Comments

calebw503d agoTop Commenter

Look, sometimes you gotta pick your battles. If it's just one cowling bolt and the rest are tight, the thing isn't going anywhere. Those panels have a lot of other fasteners holding them on. I've seen planes fly for years with little stuff like that, and it's always fine until someone has time to fix it right. He knows his own plane and what it can handle for a short hop.

johnthompson2d ago

Taped mine once. Held fine.