A crj-900 passenger saw a mechanics tool under a spoiler in flight and notified the crew at the gate...

Attributes
ACN	840002
Time
Date	200906
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Regional Jet 900 (CRJ900)
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Parked
Person 1
Function	Pilot Flying Captain
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 33 Flight Crew Total 10000 Flight Crew Type 123
Events
Anomaly	Deviation - Procedural FAR Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy

Narrative:

After landing a passenger approached the flight attendant asking if he could tell the crew about a possible maintenance issue. The passenger came to the flight deck and said he saw a tool used by maintenance stuck in the area underneath the right flight spoiler; and described the tool. After the description I believed he saw something. I walked around lifted the flight spoiler and spotted a tool used by maintenance; it was a mirror attached to a bright orange handle. I tried to get it out but it was stuck in the position. I returned to the flight deck and notified dispatch of the situation.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A CRJ-900 passenger saw a mechanics tool under a spoiler in flight and notified the crew at the gate.

Narrative: After landing a passenger approached the Flight Attendant asking if he could tell the crew about a possible maintenance issue. The passenger came to the flight deck and said he saw a tool used by maintenance stuck in the area underneath the right flight spoiler; and described the tool. After the description I believed he saw something. I walked around lifted the flight spoiler and spotted a tool used by maintenance; it was a mirror attached to a bright orange handle. I tried to get it out but it was stuck in the position. I returned to the flight deck and notified Dispatch of the situation.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.