FOD

Transportation & Travel abbreviation · Aviation

FOD stands for Foreign object debris, an aviation abbreviation.

Any loose object on a runway, taxiway or ramp, such as bolts, rocks, luggage tags or wildlife remains, that can be ingested by engines or puncture tires. Damage from such debris is often estimated to cost the aviation industry about $4 billion a year.

Example: Ramp crews walked the apron in a line for the morning FOD sweep before the first departure.

Usage notes

Also expanded as foreign object damage, meaning the harm itself. The July 2000 Air France Concorde crash began when a tire struck a metal strip that had fallen from another aircraft onto the runway at Paris. Military flight lines and aircraft carriers hold regular "FOD walks."

Related abbreviations

More aviation abbreviations

• FDR – Flight data recorder
• FE – Flight engineer
• FIR – Flight information region
• FL – Flight level
• FMS – Flight management system
• FO – First officer
• FSS – Flight service station
• GA – General aviation
• GPU – Ground power unit
• GS – Glideslope
• HSI – Horizontal situation indicator
• HUD – Head-up display

See all 142 aviation abbreviations →

Edited by the AbbreviationList.com team. Spotted an error or a missing meaning? Contact us.