Some guy was on an American Airlines flight, looked out his window and saw what he believed to be duct tape on the outside of the plane. Apparently, he’s not surprised that they’re using tape, he’s surprised that they’re using it on the outside of the plane.
It’s not really duct tape. It’s “high speed tape” which apparently is really expensive, but also really adhesive as well. I thought the incident was funny.
Here’s the wing of another airline’s plane with duct tape holding it together.
Ducted Tape on Wing, originally uploaded by James Burnes.
From a 37 year retired Captain: It is speed tape, not duct tape. It is different in several ways. It is made from aluminum except for high rated speed tape which is made from stainless steel. It has a better adhesive. And it is expensive! Flow charts that look at location and size of the repair determine which rating (by speed) must be used for the repair and the repair usually has a time or cycle limit (one takeoff and landing is one cycle). The chart and the airplane flight manual also determine IF speed tape can be used. Typically it is used to get the airplane safely back to a base where a proper repair or replacement can be made. Hope this helps.