Fight Against FOD Never Ends

Foreign object damage can often become the hidden killer for pilots.

Richard Scarbrough

Monday, September 16, 2024 at 08:57 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Kimberly Johnson

433rd Airlift Wing members at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland perform an FOD walk to clean foreign objects and debris from the flightline. [U.S. Air Force/Staff Sergeant Lauren Snyder]

Key Takeaways:

Foreign Object Damage (FOD) is a critical and costly issue in aviation, causing significant damage (e.g., $4 million to an F-35 engine from a misplaced flashlight) and having led to severe accidents, including fatalities.
FOD encompasses a wide range of objects, from maintenance tools and aircraft fasteners to natural elements like birds or insects, posing risks to aircraft, personnel, and operations, costing the global aviation industry an estimated $1.26 billion annually.
Effective FOD prevention requires a multi-faceted approach, including universal awareness, strict tool control policies, regular inspections, a "clean-as-you-go" mentality, and proactive strategies to identify and manage the sources of foreign objects.

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“I believe I just ingested a flashlight.”

That statement is precisely what one does not wish to hear when test-running an aircraft following a maintenance event. The situation worsens when the aircraft is a $109 million F-35A Lightning II fighter. In January, Stars and Stripes reported that on March 15, 2023, “a hand-held flashlight left inside an F-35 engine by maintainers at Luke Air Force Base last year caused $4 million in damage.” It seems that after using a flashlight to inspect the poorly lit intake of the F-35, the maintainer failed to clear the tool before test-running the engine.