Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Communication Breakdown; Troubleshooting
Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Maintenance; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Ground Event / Encounter FOD
General Maintenance Action
Aircraft; Procedure; Human Factors
We took the aircraft after a weekly inspection in ZZZ. Logbook was in correct order. Flight was uneventful to ZZZ1. While doing his walkaround; the First Officer came back with a pair of vise grips/pliers and said he found them wedged in the landing gear; somewhere around the shimmy damper. At this time we called ZZZ1 Maintenance; but they had not touched the aircraft since its arrival about 10 minutes prior. We have to assume that the vise grips were left by ZZZ Maintenance sometime during the weekly check (my guess is that they used them to remove the gear pins/covers and set them down on the gear). The First Officer also stated that numerous panels were open but that he closed them during his preflight in ZZZ.I wish I had known that the First Officer had closed panels during his preflight; I would have immediately called Maintenance and ensured that they were done with their checks. I'm not sure if they signed off the logbook prior to actually completing the inspections or if someone just forgot to close up after they were completed. I know that opinions have changed a few times over whether or not we should be closing panels but I've always been of the belief that we should always call Maintenance when panels are open. Perhaps it's being taught differently to the newer pilots here.
An A319 flight crew after landing discovered a pair of vice grip/pliers wedged in the landing gear during the aircraft walk around. Local Maintenance stated that they had not yet touched the aircraft. The Captain concluded that the pliers had been left by the departure station Maintenance.