05/29/2026
Customer requests troubleshooting of Gulfstream GIV hopper tanks. Upon opening the fuel access panels, maintenance manual instructions for the GIV fall out. It is essential that aircraft is inspected for FOD before closing up a fuel tank. FOD can lead to damaged fuel tank components, clogged filters and other expensive repairs. While this is an ironic discovery, this is not the most unusual piece of FOD (foreign object debris) we have come across inside of an aircraft fuel tank. SEAL Aviation techs have found tooling, rags, parts, even a baseball.