A Qantas Airbus A380 completed nearly 300 flight hours with a technician’s tool lodged in an engine, an Australian Transport Safety Board (ATSB) report says.
The report has made recommendations for all Australian airlines to avoid other potentially dangerous instances.
In late 2023, technicians completed a routine maintenance check on an Airbus A380 jet at Los Angeles Airport.
The jet then operated 34 flights lasting a total of 294 hours with the tool still lodged in the engine.
It was only found at a following maintenance check nearly one month later, also at LAX.
The ATSB report concluded the tool had been left in the engine for 26 days.
The tool has suffered some damage due to ‘high energy airflow’ but the engine was not damaged.
ATSB Chief Commissioner Angus Mitchell said: “Further, 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.”
A missing tool report was filed at the time.
“Foreign object debris and damage can pose a significant threat to the safe operation of aircraft, which is why regulations, procedures, and training are in place,” the ATSB report said.
“We take this extremely seriously and while there was no damage sustained to the engine, it is critical that the correct lost tool processes are followed,” a Qantas spokesperson said.
