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.”
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. 
Landing gear safety pins ingested by a running jet engine; a socket wrench jammed in a flight control bell crank mechanism; a stray piece of safety wire that shorts out a circuit breaker panel: All of these scenarios represent Foreign Object Damage (FOD) that could wreak havoc on combat or training missions. Even if AFI21-101, Maintenance Management of Aircraft, didn’t require it, we’d have no trouble recognizing that an effective FOD Prevention Program is vital to safe, successful flying activities in today’s Air Force. FOD costs each year typically run in the millions of dollars. In Fiscal Year 2000 alone, FOD cost the Air Force nearly $24 million, diverting valuable resources needed for the readiness of our Air Expeditionary Forces.
