Safety
FAA studies FOD detection systems
The FAA has begun trials of four separate systems designed to automatically detect, report and pinpoint the location of foreign objects on airport runways.

The FAA has begun trials of four separate systems designed to automatically detect, report and pinpoint the location of foreign objects on airport runways. The purpose of the trials is to examine the capabilities of different technology approaches to the problem, and to embody the results in an Advisory Circular in mid-2009.

How serious a problem is foreign object debris (FOD)? The one unforgettable FOD-caused accident was the loss in 2000 of an Air France Concorde when, during takeoff, one of its tires struck a 16-inch titanium strip that had fallen from a previously departing aircraft. Impact pressure from a piece of the disintegrating tire burst one of the SST’s fuel tanks, leading to a massive fire from which recovery was impossible.

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