A Qantas jet carried passengers on dozens of international flights with a 4-foot tool jammed in one of its engines, investigators have revealed.
Nothing seemed amiss about the Airbus A380 as it operated 34 flights between December 2023 and January 2024. Services included a flight from Los Angeles to Melbourne.
But on December 6 the engine had a scheduled borescope inspection, and technicians accidentally left a 4-foot-long nylon tool in the outboard left engine’s inlet.
It was only 24 days later, after logging nearly 300 flight hours, that a maintenance crew in Los Angeles found the tool lodged in the engine.
The tool is used to turn the engine’s intermediate‑pressure compressor. It had been left in the engine’s low-pressure compressor case.
There was no damage to the engine itself, but the tool had been bent out of shape by ‘high energy airflow,’ the Australian Transport Safety Bureau said.
ATSB Chief Commissioner Angus Mitchell said that staff in December noticed the tool was missing but didn’t bother to find it.
‘Maintenance engineers did not commence the lost tool procedure once the tool had been identified as missing, and the certifying engineer released the aircraft for service with the tool unaccounted for.’
The tool was only discovered after the Airbus A380 had logged nearly 300 flight hours.
Mitchell said foreign objects and debris can pose a ‘significant threat’ to the safe operation of planes.
Procedures are in place to ensure that foreign objects aren’t left behind in aircraft – but in this case they weren’t followed.
After the bungle was discovered, Qantas briefed its engineers on the importance of accounting for all their tools.
The staff member responsible was also investigated internally. The result was an ‘internal safety directive’ to staff.
In 2023, Qantas was named the world’s safest airline – a reputation the Flying Kangaroo has been keen to preserve.
The tool was accidentally left in the engine after a routine inspection.
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