Congratulations to Qinetiq in producing a serviceable foreign-object damage (FOD) radar system, clearly an important option to improve safety on the runway (Flight International, 17-23 February). Is this not an expensive way of locking the stable door after the horse has bolted ?
FOD that gets as far as the runway has travelled some distance and is generally the result of some other procedural failure. Maintenance work under JAR 145 has long been short of mandatory procedures that would otherwise prevent/reduce FOD ever leaving the hangar. A few simple, low-cost well-proven procedures can keep the FOD in the hangar, in the tool box or in the bin.
Mike Pearson Camberley, Surrey, UK
Source: Flight International
