Chalk this one up to either dumb luck or stupid-mistake resistance design, but a commercial jet just managed to fly the equivalent of almost two weeks with a tool stuck in one of its engines.
A newly published report from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau details the adventures of the Airbus A380 that picked up the stowaway on December 7, 2023 after maintenance engineers forgot about the lost tool procedure sending the aircraft back into service.
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The Qantas Airways jet was in Los Angeles while undergoing an inspection on the left outboard engine’s intermediate-pressure compressor. One of the engineers who had checked out the tool, a roughly four-foot nylon rod, headed out early for a medical appointment and left the remainder of the inspection to the other engineer. When the work was finished, the subsequent inspections failed to see the tool still stuck in the engine compressor.
Later the next day, the aircraft departed Los Angeles for Melbourne. It flew 34 cycles, totalling 294 hours, with the tool in the engine, until its next scheduled maintenance check. According to the report, although the tool was found to have been deformed by high energy airflow, there was no damage observed to the engine itself. And, luckily, the tool didn’t cause any operational problems while the aircraft was in flight.
After the tool was discovered, Qantas Engineering said it immediately briefed staff on the importance of ensuring all tooling is returned and actioned by tool store personnel. The airline also completed an internal investigation and issued a safety directive stressing the importance of complying with company tool control requirements.
ATSB Chief Commissioner Angus Mitchell said, “Foreign object debris and damage can pose a significant threat to the safe operation of aircraft, which is why regulations, procedures and training are in place to limit the risk of foreign object damage, especially from introduced objects during maintenance.”
In this case, the Qantas engineers managed to avoid dire consequences for their mistake. But forgetting random objects in a jet engine doesn’t always work out, as evidenced by an incident last year when a flashlight was left in an F-35, resulting in $4 million in damages.
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X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=LOCAL:00:00:00.000,MPEGTS:0
00:00.009 --> 00:04.739
Chalk this one up to either dumb luck or stupid
mistake resistant design.
00:04.750 --> 00:09.970
But a commercial jet just managed to fly the
equivalent of almost two weeks with a tool
00:09.979 --> 00:14.010
stuck in one of its engines.
A newly published report from the Australian
00:14.020 --> 00:20.559
Transport Safety Bureau details the adventures
of the Airbus a 380 that picked up the Stowaway
00:20.569 --> 00:26.790
on December 7th 2023 after maintenance
engineers forgot about the lost tool procedures
00:26.799 --> 00:32.108
before sending the aircraft back into service.
The Qantas Airways Jet was in Los Angeles while
00:32.118 --> 00:37.987
undergoing an inspection on the left outboard
engines, intermediate pressure compressor.
00:38.018 --> 00:43.748
One of the engineers who had checked out the
tool, a roughly 4 ft nylon rod headed out early
00:43.757 --> 00:47.487
for a medical appointment and left the
remainder of the inspection to the other
00:47.498 --> 00:50.568
engineer.
When the work was finished, the subsequent
00:50.577 --> 00:54.827
inspections failed to see the tool was still
stuck in the engine compressor.
00:54.917 --> 00:58.625
Later the next day, the aircraft departed Los
Angeles for Melbourne.
00:58.706 --> 01:05.585
It flew 34 cycles totalling 294 hours with the
tool in the engine until its next scheduled
01:05.596 --> 01:09.816
maintenance check according to the report.
Although the tool was found to have been
01:09.825 --> 01:14.426
deformed by high energy airflow.
There was no damage observed to the engine
01:14.435 --> 01:19.926
itself and luckily the tool didn't cause any
operational problems while the aircraft was in
01:19.935 --> 01:25.113
flight after the tool was discovered.
Quantas engineering said it immediately briefed
01:25.124 --> 01:30.533
staff on the importance of ensuring all tooling
is returned and actioned by tool store
01:30.543 --> 01:33.403
personnel.
The airline also completed an internal
01:33.414 --> 01:38.463
investigation and issued a safety directive
stressing the importance of complying with
01:38.473 --> 01:43.344
company tool control requirements.
A TSB Chief Commissioner Angus Mitchell said
01:43.353 --> 01:48.473
quote, foreign object debris and damage can
pose a significant threat to the safe operation
01:48.484 --> 01:54.082
of aircraft which is why regular procedures and
training are in place to limit the risk of
01:54.092 --> 01:58.332
foreign object damage especially from
introduced objects during maintenance.
01:58.342 --> 02:03.931
In this case, the Qantas engineers managed to
avoid dire consequences for their mistake but
02:03.942 --> 02:08.662
forgetting random objects in a jet engine
doesn't always work out as evidenced by an
02:08.671 --> 02:15.391
incident last year when a flashlight was left
in an F-35 resulting in $4 million in damages.
02:15.561 --> 02:17.772
I've been m and this is manufacturing now.
