What is F.O.D?

There's some video out there of a guy getting sucked up into an A-6 intake. He lived, and the only reason is that his belt got caught on a probe that's located in the forward section of the intake. If he or anyone makes it to the turbine blades it's all over...

With all the junk that ends up on runways, as well as birds, sometimes I think it's a wonder there isn't more FOD!

FOD is in layman terms the stuff you see on the side of the road, basicly trash that's on the flight line or flight apron, and with most units in the US military they do FOD walks weekly mostly on Mondays at shift change to try to rid the problem but with jets like the F-16(the world largest vacuum cleaner or lawn darts) they'll even pull the tar from the cracks on the aprons, I should know I've worked them for over 8 years, now I have a break and now work the most deadliest tank killer in the world, the Hawg(A-10) and she's the most forgiving airframe around, but she's still susceptable to FOD damage, I've work just about all of the aircraft in AF's inventory and to top that I've even work corp. jets as a civilian(I'm an AF Reservist now) and FOD is still considered a Killer,---FOD is Foreign Object Damage or possible damage to the airframe or engine causing extensive repair or total distruction to airframes or powerplants, FOD ranges from blades of grass to Human beings to hand tools to ball point pens or even a B-B, a .25 cent ball point pen can destroy a $25,000,000.00 engine and the USAF & US Navy has a major campain to rid this problem but it's still there because people are not perfect and they drop things without knowing it(normal human nature) and the next person doesn't pick it up and thats FOD, on the MiG 29 she has anti FOD doors on her intakes to stop the engines from injesting FOD while on taxi's, take off's & landings, but like all A/C(aircraft) FOD can still get them in the air, birds are Flying FOD and they don't even know it until it's way to late, I know I've overloaded you with so much information but I hope you get the picture if you have any questions e-mail me at 72cuda@gimail.af.mil
thanks

We were required to count all shirt buttons, sniglets at the end of shoe laces and other items that could become seperated from our uniforms or person before entering the intake plenum. This list was kept on the toolbox then everything was recounted, if something was missing it was back into the plenum until it was found. A shirt button can do some damage. We were, probably, the only ones to intenionally introduce FOD (sort of) into a turbine.

72cuda, a weekly FOD walk? We do it first thing in the morning and another at shift change, plus a tool/FOD check after any maintenance.

well all FOD walks that we're supervised by QA were done weekly but the T&F(tool & FO) checks are part of the maintenance proceedure as well as the dailys and I really didn't account for them, like putting change in you pocket at check out line in Wally World, But if your stationed overseas then you should know that there are rarely any apron maintenance do, the planes are parked in HAS's or Tab Vee's and they are swepped out when the planes have taxied for their sorties and what you take into them you must take out thats disposable or trash, I think you could get the picture of what I mean, as for watching things gettting injested when I was TDY to Luke AFB I watched some young Airman get sucked into a running F-16, that killed the guy and totaly destroyed the F100PW200 engine, and the next day TAC banded all use of the field jackets parka hood attachment for all F-16 wings and everyone who had the parka attachment had to turn it in to the DCM(Deputy Co, of Maintenance) of the wing,

BTW, the gentleman that was sucked into the F-18 intake WAS hit by the rotor blades. He was lucky enough just to be slightly scalped, plus lost an ear. The fast thinking of the pilot saved his life. Believe me, being on an aircraft carrier, you see that movie played over and over again. Still amazing he lived, if you ask me.

demono69

here's another one for the FOD issue, on the Yard Darts(F-16's) you needed to remove all items in your pockets, due to the AcesII ejection seat was reclined 30 degrees and possible FO in the cockpit, and pilots didn't want to see you pocket fuzz doing a 9G turn, also had to make sure all items where removed from avionic bays to prevent damages to the flight control computers
Isn't this FOD issue going nuts?