criss;
"Comes pretty early...", Yeah, we see that more and more as the smaller carriers continue to pay less but need more - (I don't want to go there, it's been done to death already). Re your comment re 'checked'...blablabla...'checked', etc, in my view quite frankly, only the visceral, primary realization and then active acknowledgement that one's next takeoff or approach and landing could be one's last, and that one has at that moment, the 30 seconds that one may wish one had in the next minute. The Comair crew comes to mind in this example.
Blunt though it may be, it is that kind of thinking, perhaps viewed as morbid by others who don't fly airplanes, that keeps everyone alive during those fw moments of high risk exposure.
"Blablabla" is apparently what happened at Madrid - the F/O called the slats/flaps but clearly never looked at the lever or the guage otherwise they would have been out.
There is a video of this same operator of an MD82 taxiing and lining up with the slats/flaps retracted but where the crew extends them just as they line up for takeoff - clearly forgotten but remembered or warned by the TOWS.
I am of the view that, on top of/in addition to, checklists, one must BE a pilot all the time. That involves and includes knowing and being cognizant of and ensuring that the Killer Items are checked and set correctly.
We all know that the challenge for all crews doing many legs per day sometimes in atrocious hours and weather systems, to engage the checklist process and not just recite it. It is a challenge because everything is so ordinary and normal and routine all the time.
But...it's only about six items per flight and takes less than that 30 seconds - certainly, it isn't the employer putting that much pressure on any crew that they have to get out, line up and get away.
PJ2