It's Around Here Somewhere ...

On landing at an airport in North Wales I noticed a small screwdriver poking out a drain hole in the bottom of the wing. Turned out the avionics shop who'd replaced the autopilot roll servo in Pennsylvania had left it in the wing - it was pretty lucky it didn't foul the ailerons.
 
Have a few tools I've acquired that way. If you're too careless to keep track of them, I'm not returning them to you, and not likely to return to you for service.
 
Anyone know what "tool" is a 4' strip of nylon to a jet engine?
 
The same tool that's used on boat propellers.
 
At the little airport where I was a flight instructor, the flight school took in a C-182. History showed an off airport landing with the right wing badly damaged.

The mechanic did an annual on it and found 3 bucking bars in the right wing. Don't know how they were missed in the bre-buy. Truthfully I am not sure if a pre-buy was done.
 
A friend had to have the fuel senders replaced as part of an engine monitor install. When they weren’t right working right, his regular A&P had to look inside the wings. Along with some suboptimal install work, he found three flashlights.
 
Back in the 90's Falcon Jet KLIT did an inspection my old Falcon 20. First time to really inspect the fuel tanks, 12-year inspection, I think. They found a wrench in one of them. It had been in there since the plane was new! It was engraved and LIT tracked it to the original owner and returned it to him in France. He had retired.
 
Domenick said:
Anyone know what "tool" is a 4' strip of nylon to a jet engine?
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Per the report from ATSB, "The 1.25 m long nylon tool, used to turn the engine’s intermediate‑pressure compressor during borescope inspections..."

Nauga,
and his pokey stick
 
If you or your mechanic doesn't have a tool control program, even an informal one, keep looking (for a mechanic, not the tools they lost).

Nauga,
the semi-controllable tool
 
nauga said:
Per the report from ATSB, "The 1.25 m long nylon tool, used to turn the engine’s intermediate‑pressure compressor during borescope inspections..."

Nauga,
and his pokey stick
Click to expand...
When I was a kid trying to fly radio controlled airplanes, we used to call that a chicken stick. ;)
 
Daleandee said:
Ever leave a tool in the engine?

"Mitchell adds that maintenance staff knew the tool was missing but dispatched the aircraft anyway."

airlinegeeks.com

A380 Flew 294 Hours With Tool Lodged in Engine | AirlineGeeks.com

Investigators stated that maintenance staff knew the tool was missing but placed the aircraft into revenue service anyway.
airlinegeeks.com airlinegeeks.com

:dunno:
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Years ago as flight line mechanic we were sent home if we laid a tool down ANYWHERE on the aircraft. Tools must be in hand or in tool containment.
 
Years ago I left a small set of feeler gauges inside the valve cover of a Ford 292. Didn't seem to harm the engine at all. When I found the feeler gauges they were still nice and shiny with a lot of oil. I was doing acro once with my GF in the back seat and we did inverted flight for maybe 20 seconds, she yelped on the intercom that something just fell to the ceiling of the plane. When we flipped back over, she was surprised to see a small screwdriver fly by her face. We recovered it on landing.

But no, never left a four foot long plastic bar in the compressor of a jet engine. Nope. :eek:
 
An A&P (later got his IA) had a HUGE rolling toolchest. Every drawer had the foam cutouts for every single tool he had.

I used to think he was a bit OCD, until I observed how he finished work for the day and finished closing up the airplane.
 
After buying my plane I’ve found a set of keys, a little AA Maglite rolling around in the wing, and a couple of sockets under the seat pan. I mailed him the keys, but the rest is mine.
 
nauga said:
10mm, no doubt
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Nope. No metric hardware aft of the firewall. Pretty sure they were 3/8 and 7/16, for AN3 and AN4 hardware.

I’m pretty sure 10mm sockets go to the place where 1/2” sockets used to go. I just don’t know to this day where that is.
 
Many, many years ago I used to work for a Ford dealership. One time a new Ford Pickup came in and the right rear tail light and turn signal would not work. I checked to make sure the bulbs were in place and in working order. I discovered there was no electricity to the bulb sockets, so I checked the wire connections and wire harness. I finally pulled the tail light assembly and found a lunch sack, empty sandwich bag, empty chip bag and a Dr Pepper can. The DP can had worn into the wire insulation enough the break the connection.

Over the year I worked there I found screw drivers, wrenches and sockets on other brand new pickups and trucks.

So much for Ford Quality care.
 
I've never bought a new car and have found something unintentional in virtually every used vehicle (except the three motorcycles) I ever acquired--nine that I remember. Folding knives, screwdrivers, wire snips, open end wrenches, pliers, ...
 
I found a $11,000 cashiers check in a 1987 Porsche I bought. Sadly, it was drawn on a bank that went out of business 16 years ago, and it was all mildewed. I didn't try to negotiate it at my branch. :no:
 
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