On 6th August 2024, the USAF personnel assigned to the 6th Air Refuelling Wing and the 6th Civil Engineer Squadron, performed a foreign object debris walk at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida. The service members were called in to clean the area of the base due to Tropical Storm Debby that hit Florida at the beginning of this month.
In aviation, there are two terms related to foreign objects – the first is ´foreign object damage´ and related to any damage to an aircraft caused by ´foreign objects debris´, any adverse item, substance or particle which could cause damage to the aircraft. Both terms are commonly referred to as ´FOD´.
The FOD hazards can be divided into internal and external. The internal hazards include items left in the cockpit or any other place in the aircraft that can endanger flight safety by jamming moving parts, causing electric short-cuts or destroy any part of the aircraft. The external hazards include bird strikes, ice, sand, ash and hail, as well as any objects on a runway or an apron.
Safety procedure known as a FOD walk is exactly related to the latter of the aforementioned hazards. During the walk, a group of people moves in coordinated manner, usually in a side-by-side formation, through a designated area to search any foreign objects. It is important not to overlook any of the searched areas, as well as to locate and remove all debris to ensure safety of aviation operations.
In the past years, debris left on runways caused several aviation accidents with many fatal casualties. The Concorde crash of 2000 is one of the best-known FOD-related disasters.
On 25th July 2000, Air France flight 4590 was departing Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport. During the take-off, the Concorde tire hit a piece of titanium debris that was laying on the runway. The tire exploded immediately. Its rubber parts cut the wing, ruptured one of the fuel tanks and started fire. Shortly after, the aircraft lost control and crashed, killing all of the one hundred passengers and nine crew members onboard, as well as four people on the ground.
Investigation of the accident proved the aforementioned titanium debris caused the crash. It was a fallen part of a thrust reverser of McDonnel Douglas DC-10 which took-off from Paris about four minutes prior to Concorde.
Weather events, such as strong winds and tornados, can significantly threaten the flight safety by bringing hundreds of small, hazardous objects to the airfield area. And, because not all of them cannot be removed during usual mechanical sweeping, the FOD walk is a common way how to clean them up.
The FOD walk at the McDill air base was a collective effort of 250 volunteers that helped to minimize debris that could potentially cause damage to aircraft operating there.
Cover photo and photos 1, 2: Airmen from the 6th Air Refueling Wing, conduct a foreign object debris walk removing debris that could harm aircraft 6 Aug. 2024, at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. (USAF photos by Senior Airman Sterling Sutton).
All photos © U.S. Department of Defence (DoD). DoD information materials were used, in compliance with Public Domain licence. The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) visual information does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement.
