NAFPI conference
participants call for cooperation between airlines and airports
Dave Larrigan, of the Vancouver
International Airport, says airports and airlines must work together to
eliminate FOD. Too often the airlines leave it up to the airports. “Airports
must have the support of airport tenants,” Larrigan said. Airline
employees and service vendors must be well-versed in FOD issues because
a good deal of FOD is generated on the ground at gates and taxiways—name
badges, pens, cups, catering supplies, baggage parts, etc.
Outside
contractors need to be educated about FOD,
analyst says
Many people who need to be educated
about FOD are people who don’t know what it is, yet are working in
positions that are sources of FOD. For example, landscapers at one
airport wanted to plant flowers along the
runway without realizing the flowers would draw birds and
likely result in an increase in aircraft bird
strikes. An expansion of educational efforts to include people
servicing aircraft, building contractors, landscapers, etc., would go a
long way in reducing FOD, said one conference speaker.
FOD cost estimates
emerge despite lack of tracking
No one knows for sure how many engine
failures are caused by FOD ingestion or how often FOD damages other
airplane parts. The fact is, there is a lack of documentation and
tracking. However, Squadron Leader Richard Friend, of Royal Air Force in
the UK, currently on loan to the U.S. Air Force Research Lab at Wright
Patterson AFB, estimates direct costs (such as engine damage) worldwide
(military and civilian) at $4 billion annually.
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