THE MANY FACES OF FOREIGN OBJECT DAMAGE

by Bob Baron, Learjet Crews International, Inc.

It was only a few years ago that I realized just what FOD could do. It was a bit (1)ironic
actually. We flew a Learjet into a major overhaul facility where they proceeded to perform a
complete (2)overhaul on both General Electric CJ610 engines. After about 4 weeks, the
aircraft was ready to be picked up with two "like new" engines. We did our (3)cursory walk
around (4)inspection and low and behold: a bunch of FOD damaged turbine blades on one of
the engines!

Unfortunately, the (5)ramp where this facility had to do the run-ups was under construction
and it was quite windy for a few days too. I noticed (6)scaffolding and a bunch of
construction crew very close to the ramp. You can probably figure out what happened.
Fortunately, the aircraft was in just the right place to (7)repair the damage.

F.O.D., the acronym for Foreign Object Damage, once known as Foreign Object Debris, is any
kind of foreign object that can possibly enter an engine and cause large scale and costly
(8)damage. The damage can be so (9)extensive that an entirely new engine may have to be
installed.

FOD comes in many shapes and sizes.

I have been to Fort Lauderdale
Hollywood International Airport's
Operations Center and I have seen
bags of collected FOD from just one
day. At a major airport such as this
one, ground crew routinely "sweep"
the operations area searching for (10)debris. Objects that I have seen include baggage tags,
screws, bolts, nuts, rags, paper cups, napkins, screwdrivers, and other hand tools.
1

Communicative Aviation English I | Article 1 Foreign Object Damage

How do these items wind up on a
(11)taxiway or runway you ask? The
answer can be simple and obvious, but
it can also be a mystery. Carelessness is
one reason. Many workers on an
airport operations area are not always
aware of the (12)hazards that FOD can
create. Maintenance people have been
known to forget a wrench in the engine
inlet. Pilots have been known to leave a
hat or a coffee cup on the wing during a preflight inspection. I have seen airport "rampers"
while (13)hastily restocking the food and beverages on a 757, carelessly drop paper goods to
the ground without even attempting to let somebody know! The mystery FOD is the hardest
to (14)detect. This is the type that can just fall off an aircraft in a moments notice and not be
detected until it's too late. A clear-cut example of this would be the Air France Concorde
tragedy in July 2000. A previous departing aircraft had some parts fall off during the takeoff
roll. The Concorde ran into those parts on ITS takeoff roll and caused (15)catastrophic
damage.

The last type of FOD I wanted to mention

comes from Mother Nature. Birds have
been a longstanding and (16)controversial
problem at many airports. When a bird is
ingested in an engine, the outcome can
be (17)disastrous. A small bird may just
harmlessly pass through the engine
without any damage, but a larger bird
may completely disintegrate internal components, causing total engine failure. Bird and
wildlife (18)mitigation has been a controversial issue with animal rights activists. But overall,
effective and humane measures have been implemented and have met with a fair amount of
success.

Communicative Aviation English I | Article 1 Foreign Object Damage

So what can be done? FOD control begins with education and (19)awareness. Any business
operating on an airport should be made aware of what FOD damage can do in terms of
safety and in terms of the millions of dollars worth of damage it causes every year. Posters,
videos, leaflet, and flyers are a good start. A short class offered to airport businesses and
employees would be even better!

Keep your eye out for FOD. Any time you are on a ramp, scan the area. If something is on the
ground that shouldn't be there, pick it up. If you are a pilot or a mechanic, be extra careful
not to leave anything lying around.

FOD cannot be completely (20)eliminated, but if we all pull together and do our part, we can
minimize the safety hazards and financial burden that we all have to pay for sooner or
later!1

Task 1: Vocabulary Sharing

Guess the meaning of the words below based on the article given.

1. Ironic : ____________________________________________________

2. Overhaul : ____________________________________________________

3. Cursory : ____________________________________________________

4. Inspection : ____________________________________________________

5. Ramp : ____________________________________________________

6. Scaffolding : ____________________________________________________

7. Repair : ____________________________________________________

8. Damage : ____________________________________________________

9. Extensive : ____________________________________________________

10. Debris : ____________________________________________________

11. Taxiway : ____________________________________________________

12. Hazards : ____________________________________________________

13. Hastily : ____________________________________________________

1 3
Source: http://www.fodnews.com/article0l.html

Communicative Aviation English I | Article 1 Foreign Object Damage

14. Detect : ____________________________________________________

15. Catastrophic : ____________________________________________________

16. Controversial : ____________________________________________________

17. Disastrous : ____________________________________________________

18. Mitigation : ____________________________________________________

19. Awareness : ____________________________________________________

20. Eliminated : ____________________________________________________

Task 2: Vocabulary Enrichment

Construct sentences by using the words given below.
1. Ironic
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
2. Damage
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
3. Detect
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
4. Catastrophic
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
5. Awareness
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

Task 3: Reading Comprehension

Answer the following questions.
1. Why does Foreign Object Damage consider dangerous to aircraft engines?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
4

Communicative Aviation English I | Article 1 Foreign Object Damage

2. What is the task of the ground crew at the operation area? What do they usually find?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

3. From your point of view, why is the bird and wildlife mitigation a controversial issue?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

4. What are the measures taken to inform about the danger of FOD airport businesses?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

5. What are the steps that should be taken to look for FOD?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

Task 4: Knowledge Enhancement

So what can be done? FOD control begins with education and awareness.

Based on the statement above, in groups of 3, discuss how to control the FOD and what are
the advantages of implementing the methods. Present the outcome to the class.

Communicative Aviation English I | Article 1 Foreign Object Damage