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

Communicative Aviation English I | Article 1 Foreign Object Damage

(10)debris. Objects that I have seen include baggage tags, screws, bolts,
nuts, rags, paper cups, napkins, screwdrivers, and other hand tools.
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

(12)hazards
create.

that

of

the

FOD

can

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
Nature.

comes
Birds

from
have

Mother
been

longstanding

a
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
Communicative Aviation English I | Article 1 Foreign Object Damage

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.
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

2
Source: http://www.fodnews.com/article0l.html

Communicative Aviation English I | Article 1 Foreign Object Damage

____________________________________________________
8.

Damage

:
____________________________________________________

9.

Extensive

:
____________________________________________________

1
0.

Debris

:
____________________________________________________

1
1.

Taxiway

:
____________________________________________________

1
2.

Hazards

:
____________________________________________________

1
3.

Hastily

:
____________________________________________________

1
4.

Detect

:
____________________________________________________

1
5.

Catastrophic :
____________________________________________________

1
6.

Controversia :
l
____________________________________________________

1
7.

Disastrous

:
____________________________________________________

1
8.

Mitigation

:
____________________________________________________

1
9.

Awareness

:
____________________________________________________

2
0.

Eliminated

:
____________________________________________________

Task 2: Vocabulary Enrichment

Construct sentences by using the words given below.
1. Ironic
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
2. Damage
2
Communicative Aviation English I | Article 1 Foreign Object 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?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
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?
Communicative Aviation English I | Article 1 Foreign Object Damage

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
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.

2
Communicative Aviation English I | Article 1 Foreign Object Damage