It appears as though plastic grocery bags are not only a threat to the environment, but also to military jets. There’s an interesting article at the US Air Force in Europe site on the damage to aircraft that can be caused by plastic bags, the threat is so great that the Air Force have been issuing free reusable bags to Airmen and their families.

by Staff Sgt. Daryl Knee, 52nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs

The 52nd Fighter Wing’s foreign object damage manager, in collaboration with base civilian agencies, provided free reusable grocery bags to Airmen and their families at the Spangdahlem Commissary Nov. 15 in an effort to enhance recognition of the dangers loose debris has on the base’s flying mission.

“It only takes one grocery bag to damage a jet,” said Master Sgt. Matthew LaNew, FOD manager. “The agencies on base have donated thousands of reusable grocery bags to get people in the mindset that loose bags truly are a FOD hazard.” (more…)

PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. – Reservists from the 920th Rescue Wing Maintenance Group are charged with not only maintaining life-saving aircraft here, but also saving millions of dollars in equipment damage with a few simple steps.

See the full article here.

Commercial airports very rarely seem to publicise any real data on FOD damage or FOD finds, the Military on the other hand are always keen to report the results of their FOD walks. An article in Aerotech News describes the efforts of the staff at the March Air Reserve Base (map).

During the quarter ending Dec 2010, FOD incidents caused over $21,000 in repair costs to our aircraft here at home station, not to mention, perhaps, some tense moments for our aircrews.

The article goes on to show an image of some damaged fan blades, and to thank those involved in their efforts towards improving air safety.

Your assistance last week is greatly appreciated and has made a difference.  The first photo is of one of the engines on our aircraft that had a recent encounter with foreign objects on takeoff last month.

They found 32 pounds of material during their FOD walk! Check out the article and see the images at aerotechnews.com.

I used to post images of FOD walks, but stopped as they were not particularly interesting, but this one caught my eye.

PACIFIC OCEAN (Jan. 3, 2011) – Sailors conduct a foreign object Damage (FOD) walk down after an abandon ship drill aboard the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70). Carl Vinson and Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 17 are on a deployment to the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class James R. Evans)

Source (Flickr)

An article has appeared on the Whiteman Air Force Base website describing their FOD clean up procedures.

“Since the B-2 is one of the main air frames operating from Whiteman, sharp objects that may pierce a tire is one of our biggest concerns,” said Airman Siemns. “Because of this, we pay close attention when making our passes during FOD walks, as a punctured tire could lead to an aircraft becoming in operational.”

According to Whiteman statistics, 363.1 lbs. of FOD was collected at the end of the May.

Read the full article (Whiteman Air Force Base website)