Folks, I almost spilled my coffee reading this one. A Qantas Airways Airbus A380 flew from Sydney to Dallas and back with a mechanic’s work light left inside its wing. I mean, who needs a thorough inspection before a long-haul flight, right? According to the Australian Transportation Safety Board, the plane underwent air-conditioning maintenance on January 7, and somehow, the 13-inch-tall work light was left behind. It wasn’t until two days later, when the plane returned to Sydney, that the light was discovered. I guess that’s one way to get some extra lighting on board.
The maintainers didn’t identify that the work light had remained in the left wing during their foreign object clearance inspections. In addition, while returning the tools, the maintainer did not identify that the work light had not been returned, and the unreturned tool check at the end of the shift also did not identify the unreturned light. It’s like they say, “a clean wing is a happy wing,” but I guess that doesn’t apply here. The report said that at the start of the work, a maintenance engineer signed out the light, along with other tools, by scanning its bar code. When two workers were changing an air conditioning sensor, they placed the battery-operated light inside the wing and eventually turned it off but forgot to retrieve it.
Another engineer inspected the work and later did a foreign object search but didn’t see the light was left behind. I’m no expert, but it seems like a simple “did we leave anything behind?” check would’ve done the trick. After the plane had returned from Dallas, an employee reviewing an “unreturned tool report” discovered it was missing. The light had no impact on the flights, Qantas said, and the incident was voluntarily reported to investigators. Qantas reported this event to the ATSB and since the event, have strengthened their tool control procedures, including introducing a mandatory pre-clearance check to confirm all tooling is accounted for following maintenance.
This isn’t the first time Qantas has had an issue with tools being left behind. In December 2023, a tool was left inside an engine on a Qantas A380 after it underwent three days of maintenance at Los Angeles International Airport. The plane flew 34 flights over nearly a month before the tool was found. A lost tool can cause significant damage, as seen in 2020 when a one-inch-long removable screwdriver tip caused substantial damage to the engine of a Jetstar Airlines Airbus A320 as it was taking off. No passengers were injured, but it’s a good reminder to double-check for any stray tools before taking off.
In conclusion, it’s astonishing that a work light was left inside a plane’s wing for two days, but thankfully, it didn’t cause any harm. Qantas has taken steps to strengthen their tool control procedures, which is a good thing, because who knows what other surprises might be lurking in those wings? As I finish my coffee, I’m left wondering what other interesting stories are hiding in the world of aviation maintenance – and hoping that my next flight doesn’t have any unexpected “passengers” on board.
Armchair patriot. Believes in the free market, cold beer, and that there’s always a guy named George behind every CNN segment.
Former remote-throwing champion turned #1 couch commentator on liberal panic in the media. Born in Texas (or so his mug says), he earned a degree in Fake Newsology & Beer Philosophy from YouTube University.
