Accident prevention begins before take-off Published July 30, 2009 By Tech. Sgt. Ian D. Carrier 911 AW/PA PITTSBURGH IAP ARS -- We've all seen the photos and video footage of US Airways Flight 1549 floating on the Hudson River earlier this year. The cause of the crash was a flock of geese. Fortunately, everyone on board survived. Some may remember The crash of a Concorde, Air France Flight 4590, at Charles de Gaulle International Airport near Paris in 2000. This crash was caused by a piece of titanium debris on the runway which had been part of a thrust reverser which fell from another aircraft that had taken off about four minutes earlier. All 100 passengers and nine crew on board the flight, as well as four people on the ground, were killed. Foreign Object Debris can be rags, pieces of paper, wire, articles of clothing, nuts, birds, bolts, or tools that, when misplaced or caught by air currents normally found around aircraft operations (jet blast, rotor or prop wash, engine intake), cause damage to aircraft systems or weapons or injury to personnel. Foreign Object Damage is any damage attributed to foreign objects that can be expressed in physical or economic terms that may or may not degrade the product's required safety and/or performance characteristics. "It only takes a tiny, tiny amount [of FOD] to do millions of dollars of damage," said Master Sgt. Pete Rose, 911th Maintenance Group Chief Safety Inspector for the Quality Assurance Office. Sergeant Rose went on to say that even on a flight line that appears as clean as ours, the amount and type of debris found can be startling. The prevention and control of FOD is vital to the preservation of our aircraft and the safety of those personnel working in, on, and around aircraft. This starts with awareness of its presence on the parking ramp, taxiways, runways, and even the roads that lead into and out of these areas. Good housekeeping on the parking ramp will go a long way in preventing hardware, stones, rocks, rubbish, and clothing from finding its way into a jet engine. This is the responsibility of not only every aircrew member, mechanic, technician, and driver who works on the flightline, but everyone on the base. FOD walks are conducted weekly here. Everyone on base is encouraged to participate. The more eyes on a flightline, the better and you never know what you may find. Prizes are given out for unusual objects. If you see FOD, pick it up and dispose of it properly. That means place it in a container and dispose of it far away from the flightline so it can't find its way back lodged in vehicle tires. Make FOD containers (cans, buckets, pouches, or bags) available in every flightline vehicle and in every flightline work area. Attach FOD containers to toolboxes and ground equipment. When driving a vehicle, inspect your tires before driving onto the flightline or taxiway. If you don't conduct thorough vehicle FOD checks, your tires can pick up rocks and deposit them in the flightline area. Make every attempt to stay on paved surfaces. Avoid driving on the dirt or grass whenever possible. If you must depart the pavement, check your tires for FOD once you return to the pavement and dispose of it properly and immediately. These simple FOD prevention measures can avoid millions of dollars and hundreds of man-hours we currently spend to repair or replace the damage. The key to FOD prevention and control is constant vigilance and immediate action to remove the hazards.