Dozens of workers and community volunteers participated in the 15th annual F.O.D. Walk at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport Wednesday morning.

About 100 people spent an hour walking a 9,000-foot runway at the airport, looking for and removing small objects, said Reese McCranie, director of policy and communications for the airport.

Small items, like pieces of rubber and metal, can cause serious damage to planes taking off or landing, he said. F.O.D. means Foreign Object Damage.

Occasionally, McCranie said, workers will find unusual items like cellphones on the runway.

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(Photo Illustration: Philip Robibero / AJC | Source: Getty)

Credit: Philip Robibero / AJC

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Inventor Lonnie Johnson stands with his Super Soaker water guns at JTEC Energy on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025, in Atlanta. Johnson, a former NASA engineer, is currently working on a new energy technology through his company’s JTEC device that turns thermal heat into usable energy. (Natrice Miller/AJC)