What imaginary creature is often blamed for aircraft problems?

BaronBatty

The Gremlin... The word "gremlin" originated in oral use amongst Royal Air Force (RAF) aviators' slang in Malta, the Middle East and India, with the earliest recorded printed use being a poem published in the journal Aeroplane April 10, 1929.[2] The concept of gremlins as responsible for sabotaging aircraft was popularized during World War II among airmen of Britain's RAF, in particular the men of the high altitude Photographic Reconnaissance Units (PRU) of RAF Benson, RAF Wick and RAF St Eval. The story attempted to explain the accidents which often occurred during their flights. Gremlins were also thought to have enemy sympathies, but investigation revealed that the enemy also had similar problems, so the gremlins were not taking sides in the conflict.[3] In reality, the gremlins were a form of "buck passing" or deflecting blame.[3] This led the folklorist John Hazen to note, "Heretofore, the gremlin has been looked on as new phenomenon, a product of the machine age — the age of air." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gremlin Jun 06 08, 4:18 AM

jbooker8

Gremlin- means to vex and annoy and that is certainly what the gremlins did to the pilots and their aircraft in World War II (1939–45) when the pesky entities were routinely blamed for engine troubles, electronic failures, and any other thing that might go wrong with an airplane. http://www.unexplainedstuff.com/Mysterious-Creatures/Wee-Folk-and-Their-Friends.html Jun 06 08, 3:33 PM

MonkeyOnALeash

Sited in the movie "Gremlins". Jun 06 08, 9:59 PM