​Boeing Field Runway Scoured in Semiannual FOD Walk

We came. We walked. We looked for trash—and were happy when little or none was found. Because trash on an active runway, which is known as FOD (foreign object debris), is dangerous.

I was one of 100 civilian volunteers to turn out in Seattle on Saturday for the King County International Airport-Boeing Field (KBFI) FOD walk.

Runway inspection and FOD removal is a daily occurrence at airports. Usually it’s the airport manager or someone delegated by them driving a truck with a giant magnet hanging off the tailgate just a few centimeters above the surface. The magnet picks up screws, bolts, wires, and other pieces of metal that have come off of aircraft. The idea is to get the debris off the runway before it becomes a problem.

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This FOD walk is held semiannually, according to officials from King County, and is part community outreach and part safety. As someone who was based out of KBFI for many years I can tell you that sometimes interesting items show up on the runway that shouldn’t be there, such as iPads, water bottles, fuel caps, and even wheel pants.

Volunteers gathered in the east parking lot of the Museum of Flight around 7:15 a.m. PDT. The airport supplied a continental breakfast, including coffee, because, well, this is Seattle. 

The weather was cloudy and gray—again because this is Seattle. 

Airport officials had arranged a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) advising the runway would be closed from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. Airport employee Sean Moran addressed the volunteers with a bullhorn to provide the safety briefing. Volunteers were given trash bags and grabber tools to pick up the trash. The instructions were clear—stay on the pavement and don’t wander into the grass. The wide, white side stripe marking was the boundary. 

Chartered buses would take half of the group to the south end of the runway, and the other half would go to the north end. The runway measures 10,007 feet by 200 feet, or just under 2 miles. 

My group drew the south end start. We started at the displaced threshold south of the large lighted “X” that is FAA-ese to pilots signifying that the runway is closed. I explained this to a few of the volunteers who voiced concerns it was a target the pilots aimed for when they came in for a landing.

I assured them the runway was closed, and the pilots knew this because they did their homework, checking NOTAMs before the flight. Plus, the folks in the tower were keeping an eye on us and, if appropriate, would direct airplanes to the other runway still in operation if needed.

We started our journey to the north. 

As a pilot, I instinctively gravitated to the centerline. For me, it was particularly fun to walk over the touchdown-zone and aiming-point markings. 

I was surprised by the thickness of the layer of tire tread on the pavement. A few people picked up balls of rubber and what appeared to be tar, but that was pretty much it for FOD for the south end group. Moran, following the volunteers in his airport truck, remarked it made him happy to see the runway so clean.

The groups met in the middle across from the control tower. We were flanked by the airport fire and rescue trucks for a group photo and water cannon salute.

In addition to memories and photos, participants each received a commemorative T-shirt designed for the airport by Chauncy Jones, who when she is not working as an artist serves as KBFI’s flight monitoring and community outreach coordinator.

Jones took a serious issue and gave it a whimsical spin, starting with a cartoon runway scene, because there is no way the folks at KBFI would let theirs get that dirty, and adding the words “FIELD OBJECT DEBRIS.” The T-shirts were worn with pride as the Museum of Flight also gave participants free admission for the day.