Alaska Airlines says plane with maintenance message on wing is safe, note not appropriate

(AP)

A passenger on an Alaska Airlines flight bound to Seattle looked out the window and saw what appeared to be a damaged area on the wing with a handwritten note saying, “We know about this.”

The incident July 28 drew comments on Twitter and other social media websites.  The blog Flying with Fish posted about the unintentional message that was written on an Alaska Airlines wing and the photo, posted on Reddit, shows a cut in the wing flap with a note in black marker that says: "We know about this" and an arrow pointing to the cut-out.

But the Seattle-based airline says there was nothing to worry about. Spokeswoman Bobbie Egan said Tuesday that it was an approved trim repair to the corner flap on the right wing.  A maintenance technician wrote to let the flight crew know.

Egan says, “The message was the result of someone’s good intentions” but the wing note “was not appropriate and did not follow company procedures.”

The message was immediately removed, and Alaska apologizes for any alarm it may have caused.