Issues, Information, And Actions To Help Prevent Foreign Object Damage
If you think about it, “foreign objects” are not a problem unless they are not Deposited correctly and therefore cause Damage. In order to prevent FOD (Damage) you first need FOC (Control and/or Collection).
In the best of all worlds, no foreign objects such as tools, fasteners, wire clippings and the like would ever be left behind in the workplace. But given the task of dealing with a less than perfect world, we strive to do our best at “Control” and “Collection”. [Read more…]
For a detailed timeline of all the events that led up to and since the French Concorde crash, visit www.aviation.about.com. This website offers many details about the ongoing investigation into the Concorde FOD crash. Interesting to note: On January 6, 2001, French air accident investigators revealed that before the Concorde crash outside Paris last July, there had been six previous incidents in which burst tires had perforated Concorde fuel tanks.
Scientists at NASA built a gun specifically to launch dead chickens at the windshields of airliners, military jets and the space shuttle, all traveling at maximum velocity. The idea is to simulate the frequent incidents of collisions with airborne fowl to test the strength of the windshields.
[Read more…]
UNITED STATES AIR FORCE FOD REGULATIONS
(Air Force Instruction AFI21-101)
To read the US Air Force instructions for FOD control, click here. The FOD program is on Page 324. The Tool Control program is on page 233.
From THE NET – The Atlanta Worldport Safety Newsletter
In 2005 Foreign Object Damage (FOD) Cost Us About $16,000,000
FOD Prevention gets serious attention at Boeing’s Airport Technology Group web site. Find informative articles designed to help airport management with a variety of planning, engineering and function evaluations. Contents include: Boeing Planning & Engineering Services, Manuals and Product Information; Rescue & Fire Fighting; aircraft 3-views with movement and placement information; and a link to the slides from Brad Bachtel’s presentation, Challenges to Airport Ramp & Runway Debris Control.
Full text at www.boeing.com/commercial/aviationservices/
Forensic science isn’t just for crime scene investigations anymore. Now it can locate the source of a FOD incident.
This letter from FODNews.Com reader at NAS Pax River
demonstrates how they “make it happen” daily.
| Mr. Chaplin,I attended the 2004 NAFPI FOD Conference meeting in Atlanta. I ran out of time to cover all of the seminars that were of interest to me. The ones I did attend were very well done.
One thing about tool control. I was amazed that many who attended didn’t seem to have a clue how important tool control is. We at Air Vehicle Modification and Instrumentation (AVMI) at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, have a process that saves time and money. Each morning every tool box is inventoried by a QA person. Later, when it is ready to be taken out, the tech that will be using it checks it personally, along with a supervisor. The tech moves the box to an aircraft and tools are used as needed. After a tool is used, it is placed back in the box, in its proper spot. If the Tech has to leave a tool unattended before a repair task is completed, the tool is put back in the box and the box is locked up. At the end of the shift, the box is taken back to the storage area and inventoried again by the tech and a supervisor. We find this an ideal way to keep hand tools under control. We also have an area for specialized tools. These tools are sight inventoried at night, locked up and inventoried again in the morning prior to any use. When a tool is needed by a tech, he acquires the key, signs the tool out, and signs the key back in. When the Tech is finished using the tool, they again get the key, put the tool back in its shadowed or cut-out spot, lock up, and sign the tool and the key back in. The above works great for us. We work on other folk’s aircraft every day, all kinds, and take the responsibility seriously. Everything in its place, and a place for everything. I would like to thank all who put the effort into the presentation of the NAFPI FOD Conference seminars and presentations. Think Safety!! Respectfully, |
September 2004
A major US airline flight departing Chicago O’Hare Airport with over one hundred passengers on board experienced a forced emergency landing, likely the result of a “bird-strike” encounter with geese. After takeoff, the aircraft began experiencing critical engine problems almost immediately. Several callers phoned to report seeing flames as well as an explosion. A spokesperson for the airline reported that along with an engine fire and its ensuing damage, missing pieces from the engine may have fallen in the surrounding communities. Fortunately, no injuries or damages have been reported from the ground. The 107 passengers left the plane unharmed.
Every supervisor must be involved in selling the FOD Prevention attitude every minute, every day with every employee or visitor. When leadership demonstrates a diligent, positive attitude toward the banishment of every potential debris threat – large or small – employees will embrace the concept. FOD Prevention is seldom entertaining, but nobody wants the trauma of a serious FOD Incident. Read tips for supervisors from the Australasian Aviation Ground Safety Council at http://www.aagsc.org/members/aagsc_adm/UploadFiles/RIP20_ForeignObjectDebrisManagement2004.pdf.
Seeing is remembering, and the short VHS presentation, “FOD,” drives home the point that potential FOD threats are everywhere, and there is no warning, no second chance for a careless mistake. Well done by the Australasian Aviation Ground Safety Council, working ground crew, safety officers and airport CEO’s speak of actual experiences and prevention needs. The producers emphasize the specific responsibilities of educating visiting contractors, craftsmen and others about the crucial need for controlling debris at airside.
“The only defense is prevention.”
The Concorde crash is so senseless because debris on the runway is one of the most preventable causes of damage to aircraft and plane crashes,” said Gary Chaplin, president of the Tucson, Ariz.-based FOD Control Corp.
There is a way to find out, and not only is it
called F.A.S.T. – but it is that, too!by MSgt Steve Ball, Minot Air Force Base
(F.A.S.T.) Overview
Here’s the low down on the Failure Analysis Service Technology. This process is an investigation technique carried out by Mr. George Morse of FAST at his offices in Pine Mountain, California, using an electron-scanning microscope to determine the identity of foreign materials left behind on damaged areas during a FOD event. It is as potentially as important to your FOD/Flight program as the FOD*BOSS because it is the only way I know of to determine with a high degree of certainty what an engine ingested, especially when the damage isn’t apparent. With FAST available there is no reason to simply report “Unknown” regarding source or cause of damage. If you are ever going to prevent a FOD mishap from re-occurring, the initial cause must be known so the appropriate preventative measures may be implemented. [Read more…]
Compliments of U.S. Air Force “Flying Safety” Magazine
Let’s take a minute and talk about FOD.
While we addressed it in some depth last year, it’s apparent that we didn’t do a good enough job getting our word across. It’s especially true when you look at a couple of the Class A FOD events from FY01. Events that just don’t make good operational or maintenance sense. Both resulted in well over a million dollars damage, and both were totally avoidable. Was it because someone missed an inspection? Or was it because we were just in too much of a hurry to get the job done? [Read more…]
From super scoopers to super sleuths, the arsenal
to prevent FOD has new entries.
Separated from its coffee-cup companion, a plastic cap propelled by jet exhaust haphazardly careens across an airport tarmac. To most people, this urban tumbleweed is an irksome, but harmless, traveler on today’s landscape.
To an aviation professional, such litter is anything but harmless. It is FOD. And whether the acronym stands for foreign object debris or foreign object damage, FOD can kill when ingested by an aircraft. [Read more…]
