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The article doesn't say what kind of debris they found. Can it lead to the fuel being cut off during flights? Can it be undetected for non-737 MAX planes that a
by GrayShade 7y ago
The article doesn't say what kind of debris they found. Can it lead to the fuel being cut off during flights? Can it be undetected for non-737 MAX planes that are currently flying?
Also, from the comments:
> One Middle East airline inspected their new 787 and found lots of debris and didn’t want 787 from Charleston for some time. They also found a chewing gum covering a hole in a wall close to a door.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- markus_zhang 7y agoCharleston is also the place that makes those military refueling aircrafts that were refused by USAF?
- GrayShade 7y agoNot sure, but that seems to be a thing: https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/aviation/a26627917/air-force-kc-461-deliveries-trash-boeing/ https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/aviation/a26627917... > New KC-46A tankers fresh off the assembly line were found with “loose tools” and “bits of debris” in them left behind from the manufacturing process.
- jsight 7y agoNo, those were made elsewhere.
- kayfox 7y agoCharleston makes 787s and parts for some other aircraft. The KC-767/KC-46 is assembled at the Everett factory by IAM union machinists.
- markus_zhang 7y agoThanks, stupid me, makes sense to separate military and civilian stuffs...
- kayfox 7y agoIts by airframe, not by military or civilian. The military airframes are made in the same factory as the corresponding civilian airframe, its just flown to a different facility (In Seattle or such) to be built out with the required military hardware.
- markus_zhang 7y agoThanks! This makes more sense~~
- londons_explore 7y agoI feel like it would be easier to just put a big mesh over the fuel intake inside the tank, and then say "this plane is certified to have objects up to 10 inches in the fuel tank and will still operate as designed". Planes have two fuel tanks and two engines anyway - I would really struggle to imagine a scenario in which FOD in a fuel tank would lead to something worse than an emergency landing.
- GrayShade 7y agoThere already are filters on the fuel intakes, but having a rag in there doesn't seem ideal.
- iso947 7y agoA screwdriver is under half an inch in diameter and will cause major problems with your engine.
- mrguyorama 7y agoFuel filters getting clogged leads to this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Airways_Flight_38 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Airways_Flight_38
- HeyLaughingBoy 7y agoAn emergency landing in mid-ocean?
- salawat 7y agoIt's a matter of degree, and you aren't only concerned with the engines. Aircraft frequently pump fuel around to other tanks for trim purposes. Debris that can manage to get passed filters into the pumps/lines can cause premature pump failure. Lose too many, and you have a plane out of service. Given that most MTBF are calculated assuming the absence of debris except that which may come in with the fuel, there is really no excuse for not cleaning out your tanks.