An Airbus A380 operated by Qantas flew for over 290 hours with a 1.25-meter nylon tool left inside one of its engines.

The tool was left during a maintenance check at Los Angeles Airport and was not found due to shift changes and inadequate inspections.

The tool was discovered nearly a month later during another routine maintenance session, lodged behind the low-pressure compressor blades.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau reported no observable damage to the engine components, but the tool was deformed by airflow.

Qantas has taken corrective actions, including filing an internal incident report and issuing a safety directive on tool management.