Alaska Airlines Flying With A Damaged Wing

Movies about plane crashes and problems have struck fear into many hearts.  As a result, some dread looking out the window in fear of noticing a problem with the plane.  In July, a passenger on an Alaska Airlines flight looked out the window and noticed that a chunk was missing from the wing!  Even worse was the little note written above it which read, “We know about this.”

Apparently the wing had been damaged during a previous flight and the mechanics trimmed off a piece, according to FAA standards, until it could be repaired.  Since the damage was small, the plane was cleared to take off.  At each stop the plane would go through a safety inspection where a report would be filled out about the damage.  Tiring of all the reports, the mechanics wrote the message on the wing to inform the inspection teams that they knew of the problem.  One expert was interview and admitted that he wouldn’t have been comfortable flying the plane with the damage to the wing unless he had been sufficiently assured it was safe (CNN.com).  Though everything turned out alright, this seemed like a risk, even if it was small, that didn’t need to be taken.

We encounter risks every day.  Some are avoidable and some are not, but surely we can agree that it is not wise to put ourselves in unnecessary danger.  The most dangerous situations are those that put us at spiritual risk.  Sometimes we tolerate “small sins,” but these sins tend to grow into much larger problems.  We tolerate bad influences from school, work, and friends, but these influences also tend draw us away from the Lord (1 Corinthians 15:33).

Not only should we pray as Jesus did, “Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil” (Matthew 6:13), but we should also have the courage to make the necessary changes (Psalm 37:27-28).  Are you at risk spiritually?  If so, then it is time to make some repairs.