Jet turns back as sticky tape comes off

A RYANAIR flight carrying 200 passengers was turned back in mid-air after tape used to patch up a pilot’s window came unstuck, it emerged yesterday. The pilot headed back to Stansted Airport in Essex when he was 20 minutes into a flight to Riga, Latvia. Before taking off on the 1,000-mile flight, ground crew had been called out to wrap the edge of the windscreen with tape. But the flight was abandoned when the tape dislodged after 20 minutes. The pilot and the passengers had complained of distracting sounds. Passenger Anthony Neal, 33, of Bromley, Kent, said: “We were terrified. I could see the guys taping the windscreen, with what looked like duct tape or gaffer tape. We were in the sky, then the pilot said due to damage on the windscreen, we were going to turn back.” A spokesman for Ryanair said: “We do not comment on routine technical issues. All Ryanair flights operate in accordance with approved safety standards.” The Irish Aviation Authority said it is satisfied with the routine carried out. The tape was used as an extra precaution to secure a new window seal and should have lasted up to seven days. The IAA said: “The pilot took the correct action by returning to base.”