Ike's FOD program stresses importance of FOD walk down

ATLANTIC OCEAN

07.09.2019

Story by Seaman Apprentice Trent Hawkins 

USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69)   

Chief Aviation Machinist’s Mate Noele Paiso was aboard USS Bataan (LHD 5) in 2010 when the non-skid on the flight deck was replaced while they were ported in Bahrain. On the first day of flight ops, he said an engine on an AV-8B Harrier II was destroyed due to Foreign Object Debris (FOD). On the second day, two more Harrier II’s engines were damaged by FOD. On the third day, another engine went down to FOD, making it four engines in three days. The engines on Harrier II’s cost about $3 million apiece to rebuild. On the fourth day, the FOD program stopped all flight operations.
The crew spent two hours picking up small pieces of metal, about the size of a grain of sand, off the flight deck, and according to Paiso, they filled multiple large boxes of them. The flight deck was eventually deemed safe to fly, yet another engine went down to FOD. By the time flight ops were secured permanently, five engines had been put of out commission, totaling more than $15 million in damages. The entire crew conducted FOD walk-downs with magnetic brooms for four hours a day. For four days after flight ops had been secured, more and more debris was removed from the flight deck. Once they had finished, Bataan had spent approximately $30 million in aircraft repairs, he said.
The same could happen aboard the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69). For that reason, FOD walk downs are conducted daily and a program has been created to mediate and track FOD.
“FOD is anything that could cause damage to aircraft,” said Ensign Tom Cobiere, the FOD program manager for aviation intermediate maintenance department (AIMD). “It’s not limited to any certain item. Anything that could get sucked inside of an engine, damage a flight control surface or even find its way into the cockpit is considered FOD.”
There are six categories of FOD: aircraft hardware, maintenance debris, non-aircraft hardware, facility debris, environmental and personal trash. Personal trash and maintenance debris are the most common types of FOD found aboard Ike.
“FOD comes from us,” said Cobiere. “It can be induced by Sailors or the environment. We don’t deal with environmental FOD as much here, but more so things we carry around in our pockets – common access cards (CAC), keys, pens, pencils, pocket knives, multi-tools, water bottles – all that is potential FOD. A majority of the maintenance done in the jet shop is FOD induced.”
Paiso, now the leading chief petty officer of AIMD’s jet shop, said trash, wood chips, nails, pieces of nonskid and various other types of FOD are recovered the most during FOD walk down. Tools can also be a common type of FOD due to the amount of maintenance performed on the flight deck.
“Lost tools are huge in the aviation community,” said Paiso. “We could stop all flight operations just because of lost tools. We’ve had instances where we almost did have to stop flight ops because of lost tools.”
To counter this possible outcome, tool programs have become a standard part of FOD programs throughout the Navy.
“Those tool programs have been around since I was an Airman,” said Paiso. “Check the toolbox in the morning. Check it again before working on the aircraft, climb into the cockpit, check before leaving the aircraft and again once again back inside the shop.”
Paiso said the first time FOD walk down is conducted on the flight deck after leaving port is when the most FOD will be discovered. If the crew of Bataan had done the additional steps to ensure the flight deck on was good to go, they probably never would’ve ruined five engines, he said. All of the FOD not found has the potential to make it up to the flight deck and do the same thing aboard Ike as it did on Bataan.
“We don’t have any aircraft in the hangar bay right now, but when Carrier Air Wing Three comes out we’ll have plenty,” said Cobiere. “Aircraft are built to be pretty resilient, but the wrong piece of FOD could destroy the engine, and cause the pilot to lose the aircraft and their life. Not to mention all the Sailors on the flight deck that could be affected. It seems small, but one bolt could destroy an engine or worse.”
To prevent this from happening, Ike does FOD walk downs twice a day while underway in the hangar bay, and the flight deck depending on the flight schedule. FOD walk downs will be announced over the 1MC and daily in the Green Sheet.
“For Ike to prevent FOD, we need more people to participate in FOD walk downs,” said Cobiere. “The more eyes we have looking for FOD, the more we find and the less potential for a hazard. Account for the tools we use day in and day out. FOD isn’t just from aviation rates. Anyone can induce FOD. Aviation may run the FOD program, but it takes all hands effort to prevent FOD.”

• Date Taken: 07.09.2019
• Date Posted: 07.16.2019 09:14
• Story ID: 331511
• Location: ATLANTIC OCEAN