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Reporter stated five wipair amphibian rubber sea and air float plugs were found as FOD on the airport's runway. The rubber plugs were replaced with permanent ball valve plugs secured with adhesive which allows the float compartments to be pumped dry prior to each flight.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1298786 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201509 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1201-1800 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Caravan Undifferentiated |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 135 |
| Flight Phase | Takeoff |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Component | |
| Aircraft Component | Gear Float |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Other / Unknown |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Flight Instructor Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Multiengine Flight Crew Commercial |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 60 Flight Crew Total 3200 Flight Crew Type 20 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe Ground Event / Encounter FOD |
Narrative:
Airfield operations have found 5 amphibian float plugs on the runway over a 3 month period. We operate wipair amphibian floats with rubber sea & air removable plugs. We have replaced the removable plugs with permanent ball valve type plugs and used adhesive to prevent separation from the aircraft. The cost was substantial to replace all plugs. Recommend tracking at airports with heavy seaplane use to determine if float manufacturer should design a system that will be less susceptible to FOD hazards. We are not the only amphibian operator at this airport but hope to mitigate the possibility of leaving FOD on the runway.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: Reporter stated five Wipair amphibian rubber sea and air float plugs were found as FOD on the airport's runway. The rubber plugs were replaced with permanent ball valve plugs secured with adhesive which allows the float compartments to be pumped dry prior to each flight.
Narrative: Airfield operations have found 5 amphibian float plugs on the runway over a 3 month period. We operate Wipair amphibian floats with rubber sea & air removable plugs. We have replaced the removable plugs with permanent ball valve type plugs and used adhesive to prevent separation from the aircraft. The cost was substantial to replace all plugs. Recommend tracking at airports with heavy seaplane use to determine if float manufacturer should design a system that will be less susceptible to FOD hazards. We are not the only amphibian operator at this airport but hope to mitigate the possibility of leaving FOD on the runway.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.