Chinese airline passenger spots Boeing 737 anomaly in viral video claims, airline grounds plane after inspection

An X user uploaded a video allegedly showing the incident involving a suspected irregularity on an aircraft wing before a Shenzhen Airlines flight in China. The authenticity of the video has not been verified by ET.

A passenger on a Shenzhen Airlines flight reportedly alerted cabin crew after noticing what appeared to be an abnormality on the aircraft wing before boarding, prompting airline staff to investigate the concern and eventually leading to the cancellation of subsequent operations involving the aircraft.

The incident took place on May 13 aboard Shenzhen Airlines flight ZH9804 operating from Wuxi to Shenzhen.



According to details shared online, the passenger photographed what appeared to be an irregularity in the aircraft’s external structure, reportedly involving a flap or slat on the wing, and informed the crew before departure.

Cabin crew escalates concern to cockpit

The chief flight attendant on the flight reportedly responded by taking the passenger’s photograph to the cockpit for verification with the captain instead of dismissing the concern.

Subtitles shown in a screenshot from the incident indicated the crew member told the passenger, “Please wait for me in the business cabin for a moment,” while the matter was being checked with the flight crew.

Airline later halts aircraft operations

The viral video claims the airline later decided to terminate all subsequent operations involving the aircraft, identified as a Boeing 737.

The passenger later checked the aircraft’s status on Trip.com and found that the Shenzhen-bound journey had become the aircraft’s final listed flight.

Airline follows up with passenger

According to the account shared online, the airline later contacted the passenger at around 10 p.m. the same night regarding the incident.

The follow-up was cited as an indication that the airline had treated the report seriously and taken a proactive approach in responding to the safety concern.