A380 WITHOUT A WINGLET! British Airways A380 landing into Hong Kong Airport

[@eliteclassicdetailing]

Love the 1970`s and 1980`s Aircraft flew without Winglets so beautiful....

[@coltfanboi7747]

I recall the old Tristars that didn't have winglets, they also had extra lights under the wing, taking off at night they looked and sounded magnificent with the RB211's.

[@Guerry-3]

Good morning from the States, Jayden. This is Guerry, and this video was a welcome surprise after I woke up early. Although it has been an hour since you posted this, I am shocked that your patrons have not already left two pages worth of comments. If only this could happen with your flight reviews. After viewing the video, I looked at the notes you included and am very surprised to learn about this now, since the event is dated November 7, 2018. No matter how I wrote my search question in Google, I was unable to discover any report of the event. So, I’m guessing the winglet must have landed in a remote area. Certainly, the winglet is an important part, but it is not absolutely essential. Nevertheless, here is an answer from “Airliners.net”, just in case no one wants to go to the site: “There are pictures here on a.net of many aircraft in service with only one winglet. From what I understand, it does not affect the handling or performance of the aircraft significantly, although you are looking a little increased drag on the one wing of the aircraft. If a winglet fell off mid-flight I would assume that the flight would continue normally providing that no other damage was caused …” www.airliners.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=743695 I’m most curious as to who it was that discovered the missing item? Except for the relatively few of us who are enthusiastic patrons of the art of “loving everything about commercial flying”, the vast majority of passenger would most likely not notice the winglet’s absence if they ever did peer out the window. I guess we will never know and just be left with the always fascinating view of Hong Kong harbor. Since you did not include any information as to who authored the video, I’ll end my comment with a hearty thank-you to whomever. Thank-you for sharing this with us. I always welcome your off schedule post.

[@ExpressFlyer]

Yep, just like any old planes, winglets or sharklets are not necessary, but it's more eco-friendly as it burns less fuel. I believe that the winglet was broken and removed at Heathrow Airport. They don't have any spare ones so they just let it fly like this. Note the lower part of the winglet was actually still there! www.reddit.com/r/aviation/comments/8uhevb/british_airways_a380_missing_half_its_winglet_yet/ Thanks Guerry :D

[@TakagiYumiTallTree]

Now its look like an 747-300.

[@ExpressFlyer]

Haha a bit!

[@IshrionAviation]

That's amazing! I've seen other aircraft missing parts or the entirety of a winglet but not the A380!

[@andypandy9]

The 'winglet' could have been damaged by a bird strike or minor airside collision. Assuming no damage to the actual wing structure, the aircraft is perfectly capable of safely continuing in service, until a replacement can be fitted...

[@mba0005]

Very interesting. It looks so weird not to have the winglet there.

[@ExpressFlyer]

Yep! Imagine an A350 without a winglet!

[@bartoszjanowski5500]

a380-800D

[@neilburns8869]

Far from being the smoothest of landings but still he was able to bring the big aircraft down safely.

[@flyingdentist]

Strange.Did it fell inflight or took off like this?Nice wingview though

[@ExpressFlyer]

It took off like this :)

[@LazyHarpseal]

probably removed for miniatous or maybe removed for a test the airline was doing to see fuel benefits.

[@rexrex5495]

Broken?

[@ExpressFlyer]

it was broken and removed. Still safe to fly, but it burns more fuel thanks for watching!

[@raymondleongdiva]

Something is off here ...

[@lochieellis2798]

Ewww it just doesn’t look right