tethered instead of playfully waving at the helicopter. (For more best practices, see “How to Reduce Risk from FOD,” below.)
“I think the big lesson learned from the [Air Evac
Lifeteam] accident is that foreign object debris can be all around us in the helicopter community,” says Mike J. Hodges, NTSB aviation accident investigator. “It’s an all- hands effort to be cognizant of FOD and to address and remove FOD in the operating environment. It involves everyone—the mechanics working on the helicopters, the pilots and other crew members flying in the helicopters, the line personnel servicing the helicopters, the senior leadership team running the operation, and so on.” When the FOD accident happened in Illinois, Air Evac
Lifeteam’s leadership made a small but important change across their entire operating network, ultimately increasing safety and potentially saving enormous repair costs. “We pretty quickly made the decision to replace all of the cloth covers so we won’t ever have to deal with that happening again,” says Bonham. “Since it was a canvas cover, we could envision other FOD issues. It could poten- tially dry rot in the sun and weather, allowing a piece to come off, so we replaced them with a hard plastic con- tainer that’s mounted to the fueling station.” Hodges praises that decision. “It was outstanding that,
after the accident occurred, Air Evac Lifeteam addressed the safety issue,” he says. “They deserve big kudos for their actions to help improve safety.”
How to Reduce Risk from FOD Damage from FOD costs the US aviation industry $474 million annually and the global aviation industry $1.26 bil- lion annually, according to the FAA, plus much more in
indirect costs related to delays and downtime. Personnel working with aircraft and near landing sites play an import- ant role in the safety of the aircraft and its crew and passengers. Based on decades of accident investigations, the NTSB
offers operators these helpful ideas for eliminating FOD: ■ Educate everyone working in and around your land-
ing site about the importance of keeping the area free of FOD. Make it part of their responsibility to look for loose objects, and give them time to do so. This includes grounds keepers, construction workers, mechanics, vol- unteers, law enforcement, National Guard members, first responders, flight crews—anyone working near your rotorcraft and landing sites.
■ Strongly secure everything, especially hats and caps, cell phones, jackets, and other clothing and gear inside the helicopter and at the landing site. Accident investiga- tions have revealed that items such as tarps, for exam- ple, can easily break free from tethers.
■ Designate personnel to conduct a thorough walk- around of the landing site prior to the helicopter’s arrival.
■ Pilots: Scan for FOD during your high and low recon- naissance checks before landing. If in doubt, err on the side of caution and land elsewhere.
■ Avoid landing close to construction activities and trash storage.
■ Consider the effects of wind, rotor downwash, and rainwater drainage on FOD migration when selecting a landing site.
■ Report FOD to management so action can be taken to reduce the risk to personnel and aircraft. For more information, read the NTSB’s FOD safety alerts for working near landing sites and on rotorcraft.
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SEPTEMBER 2023 ROTOR 59
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