A picture has emerged of the moment a clipboard got sucked into an Australian bound passenger carrying flight before it took off.

On October 27, 2017, the Jetstar passenger jet heading to Sydney was forced to return to Auckland after a clipboard got sucked into one of its engines.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau report released Tuesday found an Auckland Airport ground worker had left the plastic and metal clipboard resting inside the left engine’s air intake.

The report included a photograph showing “foreign object debris” purportedly from the clipboard after it was obliterated, blown out the back of the turbofan engine.

A ground crew member who couldn’t find his clipboard after the plane left its departure gate alerted airport staff.

Retracing their movements after giving the aircraft the all-clear to take-off , the plane’s ground crew had noticed “paper debris” and a piece of “sheared metal” on the tarmac, the report said.

It took more than 30 minutes for air controllers to contact the twin engined Airbus A320’s flight crew warning them there could be a problem for the flight.

Despite no apparent engine problems, the plane’s captain decided to return to Auckland after controllers confirmed the clipboard had a metal clip.

After safely landing, engineers inspected the jet’s engine finding “minor damage to an engine fan blade and engine liner” caused by the metal clip, the report said.

Jetstar and Aerocare, which manages ground crews in New Zealand, released a notice saying engines must not be used for the placement of any foreign objects.

On Tuesday, a Jetstar spokesman said while the incident “didn’t impact the safe operation of the aircraft, we take it very seriously”.

“Since this occurred we have updated our procedures which includes a specific warning about not placing items in the engine cowling and improved detail around checks and responsibilities of the aircraft dispatch process.”

This article was originally published by Stuff.co.nz. Read the original here.

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