What happened
Following several hours of technical maintenance work on an Airbus 320, maintenance personnel inadvertently left a flashlight resting on the aircraft's main landing gear strut. After the aircraft had departed, the airport duty officer discovered the flashlight lying on the runway at EPKT. The object was later identified as belonging to a specific staff member through markings found on the device.
The investigation
The investigation focused on the breakdown in procedures during the post-maintenance phase and the subsequent pre-flight inspection. The inquiry established that the item remained on the aircraft because there was no clear communication between the technicians regarding who was responsible for retrieving the tool from the landing gear after the work was completed. Furthermore, the investigation examined why the crew and the maintenance organization failed to detect the foreign object during their required checks.
Findings
- A human error occurred due to a lack of communication between maintenance staff regarding the retrieval of tools from the aircraft.
- The pre-flight inspection performed by both the flight crew and the maintenance organization was improperly executed, failing to identify the object on the landing gear.