lesson 5 fod.doc

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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.

Communicative Aviation English I | Article 1 Foreign Object Damage

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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.


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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 : ____________________________________________________

14. Detect : ____________________________________________________

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


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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?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

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


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________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

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.


lesson 5 fod.doc

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