People are naturally worried about aviation safety- we've all seen footage from the movies as well as from real life that shows smoking plane wreckages from which no-one escaped alive. Despite the reliable statistics which tell us that flying is, in fact, an extremely safe way to travel, a little innocent turbulence frequently has the power to frighten even the most hardy travellers amongst us. The idea then that there might actually be something wrong with the plane we're travelling on -or that it has been fixed in a haphazard way- will be enough to get most of us sweating, even on a short trip. So image passengers' reactions when they saw (and photographed) an airline mechanic seemingly fixing their plane with what looked like masking tape. 
The incident occurred on an EasyJet plane. A perturbed passenger was alarmed to see what appeared to be an official attempting a "fix" on part of the engine with what looked like silver masking tape on their EasyJet flight. The low-cost British carrier, along with its European counterparts Ryanair, Flybe, Monarch, Germanwings, and Wizzair are all known for their cost-cutting measures, and in general passengers are happy to receive a pared-down service when they're taking a low cost cheap flight: after all, no frills travel means that more of us than ever before can now afford European breaks and weekends away. But the idea that someone could be fixing the plane you're on with tape?! That takes the idea of a "low cost airline" to a whole new level. We've always been told that the cheaper airlines have excellent safety records, so what on earth was this all about? 
After the pictures of the tape on the plane went viral, worried passengers were quick to get in touch with EasyJet to find out what on earth was going on. The company quickly responded on Twitter: the eyebrow-raising use of tape was just a routine part of "normal maintenance" with the aircraft that "does not risk anything." To be fair to EasyJet, we should add here that although the tape looked like a cheap masking tape from the DIY store, it was in fact innovative "speed tape" that was especially made to aviation standard. The latter is treated as a special tape, and it is also approved by the Federal Aviation Administration. So really, passengers should have nothing to worry about...but the impression of a patch-up or botch job still remains.
It is not the first time that such an event of this type has occurred among the low-cost carriers. For example, about four years ago, the window of a Boeing 737-800 had been mended with the aid of an adhesive tape after it showed signs of damage. The noise had caused a big fear among the passengers and crew, who were quick to demand explanations from Ryanair, who denied that they had done anything amiss. The company denied any wrongdoing or compromising of passengers' safety, claiming that they were "operating in accordance with the safety standards approved by Boeing and CAA / EASA". Even after this statement, Ryanair passengers continued to feel more than a little uneasy, and it's not hard to understand why. 
Meanwhile, several airline companies are experimenting with the use of a drone to monitor the maintenance of their aircraft. In addition to the aforementioned EasyJet, higher cost, intercontinental airlines such as Emirates and Delta are also planning to perform safety inspections using these gadgets. The advantage is that drones circle the plane when it's on the ground, and can spot faults or potential faults more quickly than their human counterparts (and they don't have to be paid a wage, of course). 
The idea is that the drones will make passengers more safe than ever, but as with all developments in technology, there comes the risk of early mistakes and failures. Drones' ability to spot faults or problems with aircraft will have to be fully proved and tested, as airlines can't mess around with passengers' lives. Which begs the question- would you rather your plane was fixed by a drone, or with tape?
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