On July 25, 2000, an Air France Concorde jet bound for New York crashed within minutes of taking off from the Charles de Gaulle airport near Paris, claiming the lives of 113 passengers.
An investigative report on the accident concluded that a 16-inch piece of metal fell off a plane that had taken off earlier. The metal lying on the runway punctured the Concorde’s tire, throwing debris onto its fuel tank causing a fire and the subsequent crash.
In an effort to keep personnel and equipment safe aboard aircraft flying into and out of the Guantanamo Bay airfield, every day Air Operations personnel inspect the airfield for Foreign Object Debris. It is also known as Foreign Object Damage once an aircraft has been disabled from debris.
“FOD is not just hazardous when on the runway, but also on the ramp where airplanes park and really even outside the fence where it can blow inside the airfield on the ramps, taxiways and runways,” said LCDR Michael Edwards, the Air Operations officer and a pilot. “It is important because FOD can cause tires to blow out and engines to flame out, possibly causing loss of life.”
In addition to checking for debris on the runway, the pilots check the aircraft to ensure there are no objects that may cause damage.
“We look over every inch of the airplane on preflight, I am looking for loose screws or other things that might have worked their way into the engine,” Edwards said. “When I was in a P-3 squadron, we had FOD walk downs every day. All the squadron personnel get in a line and walk the ramp looking for FOD.”
Along with Air Operations department personnel retrieving FOD, it is equally important that personnel who are on the runway regularly be equally watchful.
“It is important that all personnel who work on and around the airfield diligently do their part to keep FOD off the field,” said Drew Lasseter, GTMO’s Airfield Facility Manager.
Another method Air Operations uses to reduce FOD on the runway is to require personnel to inspect their vehicles before entering the airfield.
“At our entry control point to the airfield, we have a FOD shaker,” Edwards said.
The FOD shaker is similar to rumble strips on the roadway. When a vehicle rolls over it, debris is shaken from the tires and dropped into metal openings.
When personnel have passed the FOD shaker, they are required to get out of their vehicles and check all tires for FOD. If they find any, the next step is to remove it, place it into their vehicles and dispose of it outside the airfield.
“FOD shakers will not remove all FOD from tires,” said Lasseter. “In many cases, it removes FOD, but in just as many cases it loosens it up enough that it becomes likely that the FOD will fly off while on the ramp. FOD shakers are never a substitute for human interaction.”
Personnel are also told not to wear hats while on the airfield to prevent them from flying off their heads into engine intakes.
Along with Air Operations personnel, passengers can also help to reduce FOD on the airfield. One way is to ensure all bags are zipped closed so that objects cannot fall out and another is to be watchful of objects on the field.
“Passengers can assist by making sure they are not wearing hats inside the flight line,” Edwards said. “Also, if passengers are walking out to the airplane and they see FOD lying on the ramp, they should pick it up. Normally, they might just pass it by and not worry about it, but if they know it has a possibility to save lives, maybe they will pick it up.”
| Date Taken: | 07.23.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 07.23.2010 12:50 |
| Story ID: | 53278 |
| Location: | NAVAL STATION GUANTANAMO BAY, CU |
| Web Views: | 831 |
| Downloads: | 173 |
This work, Preventing Foreign Object Debris Saves Lives, by Terence Peck, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
