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Warning: I left a rag in an engine inlet overnight and spent 6 hours the next day looking for a FOD write up
Last Tuesday I was rushing to finish a 100 hour on a 172 at our hangar in Tulsa and left a red shop rag stuffed in the left inlet. Came in Wednesday morning and our lead found it during a walk around before the owner showed up. I got lucky it never ran, but I still had to pull the cowl, inspect the baffles, and write up a self disclosure to the DOM. Cost me a half day of flat rate and a round of coffees for the shop. Anyone got a system that actually keeps you from walking away from an open inlet?
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valgibson17d ago
How many red shop rags have you gone through this year that just vanish into thin air? Funny how we can misplace a whole rag but somehow always find that one 10mm socket when we drop it in the worst spot. Honestly the inlet is the WORST spot for this because you can't see it once the cowl goes back on, and that little voice in your head never shuts up about it later. My old shop had a rule where you never walk away from an open inlet without a bright orange "REMOVE BEFORE FLIGHT" streamer zip tied across the opening, and yeah it looks silly but nobody ever left one in. The streamer costs like two bucks and it saved guys from exactly this kind of mess more than once. Coffees for the shop stings worse than the half day of flat rate if you ask me.
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