A 1.25-m (4.10-ft) tool was left inside an engine on an Airbus A380 after maintenance and remained there for nearly a month as the airplane completed 34 flights, accumulating 294 flight hours, before it was discovered at the next scheduled maintenance check, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) says.
When Qantas Airways maintenance personnel discovered the “turning tool” — used to turn the airplane’s compressor during a borescope inspection — inside the airplane’s outboard left engine on Jan. 1, 2024, at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), they removed it. Their subsequent inspection found no damage to the engine; however, the turning tool, which was made of nylon, had been deformed because of its exposure to high energy airflow, according to the ATSB’s final report on the event.
The report noted that foreign object debris — in this case, the tool inside the engine — is a “significant threat to the safe operation of aircraft,” adding…
