An engineer had left the tool in the engine, thinking someone else would need to use it again later on, a safety report said.

The Qantas Airbus A380 operated 34 cycles and flew for more than 290 hours before the missing tool was removed from the engine.

A Qantas Airbus A380 completed nearly 300 flight hours with a technician’s tool lodged in an engine, an Australian Transport Safety Board (ATSB) report says. The report has made recommendations for all Australian airlines to avoid other potentially dangerous instances.

Emails and tool-tracking software weren't heeded, but nothing scary happened - except to the nylon tool An Airbus A380 operated by Australian airline Qantas clocked over 290 hours of flight time despite a tool having been left inside one of its engines,