The other reason for a thorough pre-flight

[Genghis the Engineer]

This is a bit of a non-story, but I thought about it quite a lot afterwards, so thought I'd share it.


This was about a week ago, I had our syndicate aerial carriage (a biggish 1940s taildragger) signed out for a Friday night trip with Mrs.G. I'd done my planning, met, notams, etc. before leaving work - but that and a few other complications meant that I reached the airfield an hour or so later than intended. This meant a bit of a rush to get it out of the hangar and fuelled on time, and a mildly annoyed Mrs.G who had strong reasons not to be late at the other end (to be honest that was highly unlikely, but her annoyance was rubbing off on me).

So, an hour later than I'd really wanted to be airborne, there I was, aeroplane loaded, plane fuelled - but frankly feeling rather on edge about the preceding hour or so of rushing around.


So, I consciously stopped, then very slowly and systematically did the most thorough pre-flight I've ever done (well, on an aeroplane that had flown before anyhow!) - I slowly and painstakingly checked every bolt, screw, joint, fluid, pressure that was there to be checked. On a reasonably simple aeroplane, I took over 20 minutes to pre-flight it.

No, I didn't find anything wrong on the aeroplane. But at the end of that 20 minutes, I was calm, rational, able to think fully clearly, and was confident in myself and the aeroplane again. Equally, Mrs.G (actually a very experienced passenger, but still human) was much more relaxed.


And then, during a fiddly 2:10 X-country covering most of the length of England....

- absolutely nothing happened that I didn't cope with, without fuss, and without endangering the aircraft or anything else.

Which is as it should be.


As I said, a non-story, which is also as it should be.

G

[Sunfish]

Amen! I couldn't agree more.

[Say again s l o w l y]

I wish everyone had the presence of mind to act in this way Genghis, we'd see alot less incident and accident reports........

[Whirlybird]

Extremely good point, Genghis. :ok:

I have a vaguely related preflight check story that I was thinking of starting a thread about, but I think it's more relevant to post it here. I was instructing - or supposed to be - last Sunday morning. I arrived at the airfield, opened up the school, went to preflight the helicopter. I was tired, had a long week, a bit fed up at working when almost no-one else seemed to be. I did the preflight on semi-automatic, as it were - after all, I'd preflighted that particular helicopter almost every day that week, and I'd been the last person to fly it. Then I stopped. I'd been round everything, but had I REALLY looked at it...was I really wide awake enough to? I went round again, and found that one of the teletemps which are on many of the crucial parts of the helicopter had started to turn black, ie something was getting hotter than it should. I wasn't sure if it was something to worry about, but I phoned the CFI, and we grounded the helicopter. A few days later the part was replaced; the engineer wasn't sure if anything was wrong with it either, but he figured replacing it was safer than not. And one or two people have complimented me on spotting it...but I very nearly didn't!

So the connection with Genghis' story? Never mind how you feel. It doesn't matter what's going on in your head, in your life, with other people and so on. You need to calm down and be alert and do your preflight checks properly....and however you feel, you can do that.

[IO540]

I've found various loose and missing screws on a preflight.

Especially after a 50hr check ;)

A cockroach inside a static vent.

Some years ago, a colleague had his plane sabotaged (by a business partner, allegedly, not in the UK) and crashed upon rotation, without injury, luckily. I won't say how it was done but I would hope to spot it on my checks; however I know many wouldn't.

I've also seen 2 probable cases of fuel theft (totally empty tanks, on flying school planes) and - assuming it was not caused by a renter whose flight was not written up in the log and who pushed his luck right to the limit - it makes one wonder what else they might do while they are at it.

Always do preflight checks, including checking the elevator mechanism, with a lamp.

[robin]

Quite right. I've had some of the worst flights of my life with a friend who uses flight as a form of Prozac.

He comes rushing in from work, grabs headsets and maps and leaps in saying that he has to be back by xx.xx to pick up the kids. Somewhere around 10 minutes into the flight he begins to calm down,.

These days I've taken to doing the preflight before he arrives and will always do the first leg of a flight to allow him to adjust to the idea of flying

[BroomstickPilot]

I learned a check from my human performance textbook that I took to heart, but have never even heard mentioned in the flying clubs; the 'I'm Safe' check.

Illness,
Medication,
Stress,
Alchohol,
Fatigue,
Eating.

Under this check you check yourself before flying. Do you have any illness that might affect your flying skills, (a cold, perhaps)? Are you on medication, if so what affect is it going to have on your flying ability? Are you stessed (e.g. by arriving at the aerodrome late)? How many hours ago did you have your last drink? Are you tired (e.g. from long working hours)? Are you hungry; (if so eat something before you go flying: I carry biscuits in my flight bag as emergency scoff).

I suppose many if not most private pilots must have come across this check when studying for ground exams, but I strongly suspect most give it a miss when the weather is good and the aeroplane is waiting.

Broomstick.

[172driver]

Excellent thread and well done Ghengis :ok:

Also totally agree with Whirly - if you feel you are going through the preflight 'on autopilot' - start again. I've also made it a rule that if I get distracted during the preflight I start again from the beginning. It's also a good idea to keep pax away during this period or, if they are really interested in flying, do the preflight together, explaining every item.

[ContinentalC85]

I often get a ribbing from my group guys for keep cleaning our old girl - even to the extent of wiping off any excess oil and flies between sectors.
The other week I have already made landings at 2 ( fairly bumpy ) farm strips and then hopped into Popham for fuel . Whilst waiting for fuel I did my usual and wiped off oil and was clean flies of the front of the spats when I found one to be moving and discovered the bracket to have failed. Would not have been fun to have lost this in flight or on the next landing . I guees just reiterates on this thread to expect the unexpected and a wipe down of your aircraft is a good time to inspect

[Cricket23]

I too will start my pre-flight again if I get distracted. I usually start with the starboard wing and work round, but if I get distracted I start again with the port wing and walk round. I just find that it makes me concentrate harder.

My dad used to arrive at the golf club well before tee-off time to get in the mindset. I just thought it was an excuse to get out the house earlier than usual until I started to fly. Now I understand, it's really is about getting 'aircraft minded' and clearing your thoughts of all the daily clutter to let you focus on the flight ahead.

So I agree, a good pre-flight not only prepares the aeroplane, but also prepares the pilot as well.

C23.

[Superpilot]

Try doing that when the plane isn't yours and you arrive at your local club for a 1.5 hour slot.

[Genghis the Engineer]

Try doing that when the plane isn't yours and you arrive at your local club for a 1.5 hour slot.

One of many reasons that I gave up renting years ago - but surely also a reason that anybody in this position needs to find alternative mechanisms to ensure their competence and safety.

G

[tacpot]

When I do the Pre-flight somehow a single question always pops into my mind: "Is there any reason why I shouldn't fly this 'plane?"

When I get the airfield it will be after a long drive, I will have planned and researched and worried about the weather, and so be very focused on going flying. Somehow when I start the Pre-flight, this question just pops into my mind and it turns the situation onto its head - I'm now focused and prepared to not fly - this is enough to calm me down.

tp

[kookabat]

When I do the Pre-flight somehow a single question always pops into my mind: "Is there any reason why I shouldn't fly this 'plane?"

What about 'Is there any reason why I SHOULD fly this aeroplane?'
ie assume that there is a problem and don't fly til you prove to yourself that everything is working as advertised.
Maybe drawing a long bow here, but in the Columbia space shuttle accident report is something along the lines of "imagine the difference if just one manager asked, 'prove to me that Columbia IS safe to fly" - going in with the mindset that it isn't and you have to prove that it IS safe in order to go.
Maybe semantics, maybe not.

[bladewashout]

I agree with the above, slightly modified: the default decision should be not to fly.

Someone described the different aspects of a flight as being like a stack of rotating discs, each with a hole in it, the hole representing a failure in that aspect. The discs can be labelled 'pre-flight check', 'maintenance check', 'pilot health', 'organisational pressure', 'pre-flight weather check', 'Notam check' and a dozen others. When the holes line up you can see straight through the discs from the pilot to the management and an accident happens. Just one disc out of position means the accident won't happen, such as a pre-flight catching something that the maintenance guy forgot, or a pilot who only flies when properly rested & relaxed.

However you can also use the same analagy to permit yourself to fly: If the holes represent an 'ok' for the flight and you can't see clear through from one side to the other, something's wrong and perhaps it's safer to stay on the ground. It's just as valid not to fly due to a lack of confidence in the maintenance organisation as it is due to weather or even your own stress level!

On the subject of the latter, Mrs BW has been told that if I call her before I'm about to fly (e.g. with landing time at home), virtually any bad news can wait, which recently meant only finding out that she was busy driving one of the junior BW's to A&E when I called her prior to take-off - a good decision by her, and the junior BW survived....

BW

[172driver]

I learned a check from my human performance textbook that I took to heart, but have never even heard mentioned in the flying clubs; the 'I'm Safe' check.
Illness,
Medication,
Stress,
Alchohol,
Fatigue,
Eating.


Broomstick, quite right, although (at least in FAA-land) the 'E' stand for Emotion. Suspect it depends where you've been eating.....:E

Seriously: emotion is an important factor and should not be underestimated in the preflight.

[Final 3 Greens]

Try doing that when the plane isn't yours and you arrive at your local club for a 1.5 hour slot

I've walked away from a few rental bookings when the previous renter returned the aircraft late and I didn't have time to preflight and fly with a proper (mental) attitude.

Its aggravating (especially for the rental organization who lose the income), but rushing just isn't worth the risks you take.

It might not be a pre flight item that gets you, but a checklist omission or something just plain stupid like forgetting to change tanks and running one dry - the holes in the cheese are definitely more likely to line up if you are in a hurry.

Sadly there are too many examples of the consequences out there.

Ghengis, I admire your excellent airmanship in this instance, something that we should all use as a behavioural model.

[kookabat]

the default decision should be not to fly.

And that would be exactly what I was trying to say, only much more succinctly. Damn these people who are more articulate than I!!!:}