4 Foot Nylon Inspection Tool Went Undetected for Weeks

An Airbus A380, operated by Qantas Airways, took 34 flights with an over four-foot-long nylon rod lodged in one of its engines. The tool, which is used to rotate a compressor in the engine during borescope inspections, was accidentally left behind in routine maintenance.

Officials from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau reported that the tool was put in the engine during a three-day scheduled check at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). The aircraft was taken in on December 6, 2023, and released back into service on December 8, 2023.

The aircraft was downed for another three-day checkup at the LAX maintenance facility on January 1, 2024. Engineers quickly identified and removed the tool in the engine’s low-pressure compressor case. It had been badly deformed from the elements, but the engine is reportedly still in working condition.

In the month between inspections, the A380 took 34 flights and logged 293.74 hours. Just one day after finding the lost device, Qantas launched an internal incident report and began briefing its staff on the importance of keeping track of tools.

The ATSB was quick to question how the maintenance engineers did not notice the tool left behind during their foreign object inspections, which are specifically designed to prevent these situations. It also claimed that the team failed to perform its lost tool procedure or any other follow-ups before sending the aircraft back up for flight.

“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,” explained the ATSB incident report. “Correctly applying tool control is fundamental to mitigating against any human errors that may arise.”

FMI: www.atsb.gov.au