Tool Found In Qantas Airbus A380 Engine After 2 Months Missing

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB)  has disclosed that it was investigating a foreign object debris (FOD) event that involved  a Qantas Airbus A380, which landed at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on February  2nd, 2024. According to the investigators, the event happened during a maintenance inspection  at LAX when the Airbus A380 arrived from Sydney. The ATSB reported that a compressor  turning tool was found behind the fan blades of the number 1 engine- the first  engine mou

nted on the left-side wing. The ATSB said that the tool had been  missing since December 6th, 2023. An airline spokesperson described  the tool as a quote-unquote “piece of flexible plastic” and that it didn’t  hinder the operation of the engine. This is fairly clear, considering  the tool was reported missing in early December and found in early February. The incident aircraft, an  Airbus A380 registered VH-OQI, had operated around 60 flights within  that timeframe - and, as far as we know, had

been carrying that compressor turning  tool in its number 1 engine the entire time! The ATSB said that a final report will be  released at the conclusion of the investigation, and if a critical safety issue is identified  “appropriate safety action” will be taken. Thankfully, cases of foreign  object debris don’t surface too often - although there was one  big story some four years ago. Indeed, it was in February 2020 that  Boeing reported finding debris in the fuel tanks of dozens of undeliver

ed 737 MAX jets. The undelivered aircraft had been  undergoing inspections amid the worldwide grounding which followed the  Ethiopian Airlines incident of 2019. In this case, Boeing reported finding  debris in the fuel tanks of about 35 aircraft while a person familiar with  the matter told Reuters that over 50% of the undelivered 737 MAX jets inspected  at the time had debris found in them. While the type of debris  discovered was not specified, many have speculated that it could have  been alu

minum drill shavings, wire cutoffs, or heads of rivets that were drilled  and punched out. All of these materials tend to accumulate in the manufacturing and  assembly process and should be vacuumed out. Going back to the Qantas  A380 and the recovered tool, it will be interesting to see if any more details  emerge from the ATSB’s final report. For now, we can only be thankful and relieved that the  tool wasn’t the cause of any catastrophic event! What do you think of the Qantas A380  FOD incide

nt? How do you think a tool managed to remain inside the engine  for so many flights while also not causing any damage? Share your  thoughts by leaving a comment! in addition to our daily YouTube videos simple  flying publishes over 150 articles every week if you're looking for the latest Aviation  news and insights visit simple flying.com