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Whiteman Airmen ensure aircraft safety with FOD checks

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Kenny Holston
  • 509th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
As the sun peeked over the aircraft hangers, and the morning dew dripped from the parked aircraft on the Whiteman Air Force Base flightline, Air Force Global Strike Command maintainers, and crew chiefs were found stretched across the aircraft ramp standing side-by-side with plastic bags in hand.

This was a sign of only one thing -- foreign object debris walk, or better known as a FOD walk.

Crew chiefs, maintainers and other personnel working on the Whiteman flightline all take responsibility for eliminating FOD to keep the aircraft safe and the flying mission soaring.

With multiple aircraft taxing across the flightline around the clock, wear and tear on the thick concrete pad is tremendous. It often causes small pebble like chunks of the surface to break off. In the aviation world, these small rocks and pebbles are referred to as FOD and pose a very dangerous threat.

FOD mishaps can potentially result in extensive aircraft damage, ultimately hindering the Air Force flying mission and costing the Air Force millions of dollars. These incidents occur when FOD is either sucked into a jet engine or protrudes through an aircrafts tires while taxing.

"FOD is and will always be a dilemma, but it is absolutely one that we keep to a minimum by performing these walks and ensuring we collect even the smallest bits of FOD," said Tech Sgt. Kenneth Prenger, 131st Bomb Wing crew chief.

Since FOD is mostly made up of small rocks and pebbles, it's hard to remove the debris with sweeper trucks, so Airmen and civilian personnel working on the flightline have to physically remove the FOD themselves by lining up side-by-side and walking across the aircraft ramp.

"Tuesdays and Thursdays are our day's to perform FOD walks," said Airman 1st Class Nathan Siemns, 509th Maintenance Squadron crew chief. "It's easy to get complacent as we make our way across the flightline in search of debris, but we all realize how important it is that FOD is collected, so we do our best to stay focused."

With several multibillion dollar aircraft operating from the Whiteman flightline, to include 20 B-2 Spirits, Airmen must remain focused to keep the runway and parking ramps FOD free. This is accomplished by strict attention to detail.

"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."

After Airmen perform their FOD walks, the collected debris is combined into one bag and turned into Master Sgt. Michael Kelly, FOD and dropped object monitor. At the end of each quarter, the total amount of FOD collected is weighed.

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

Things such as FOD walks, tool accountability, FOD rollover checks and simply paying attention while on the flightline will continue to keep FOD mishaps to a minimum, according to Sergeant Kelly,

"FOD prevention is everyone's responsibility," Sergeant Kelly said. "We are all one team. If anyone sees FOD, it's their job to ensure it gets picked up."