Rat In Da Vat!
Assessing Your Airport’s FOD Culture
by Master Sergeant Steven Ball

Foreign Object Debris (FOD) in aircraft costs billions of dollars each year worldwide. FOD can be a nuisance when it delays a flight, can cause over a million dollars in damages when it enters an aircraft engine, or worse…

During high school I worked summers cutting grass at a wastewater treatment facility in New Jersey. Large, open concrete pools and miles of grass. Every now and then, I’d bag a rat that was too bold and got careless.

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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.

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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.
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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.

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This letter from FODNews.Com reader at NAS Pax River
demonstrates how they “make it happen” daily.

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.

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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.

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.

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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…]