Catch_0x16
18th Apr 2023, 11:17
Hello all,
I recently failed an NPPL based on the Daily Inspection check (didn't even get airborne, humiliating!). I don't want to share the school or examiner name, as they're genuinely a decent person and ultimately it was my failure, I flapped under pressure and it was generally a bit poor.
One thing has stuck with me though and is keeping me up at night, I figured I'd ask on here to get some opinions from others.
Basically, as soon as the DI started, after checking the aircraft documents etc. I pulled it out of the hangar onto the grass and removed the cowling. My examiner stopped me there and said I'd already made a big mistake that is a fail. He didn't tell me what it was, and I think he was genuinely trying to help me without directly telling me, however I was completely perplexed and a bit like a deer in the headlights. Turns out that we have a local club rule (that I wasn't aware of) that we are NEVER meant to remove the cowling over the grass (in case we lose something in the grass below). I understand the value of this club rule, and I'm happy to comply with it, it makes sense. However, as this is a club rule, and there is nothing in the POH, maintenance instructions, TIL, BMAA or CAA regulations preventing me from removing the cowling over the grass, can this really be considered a fail?
never really recovered from this negative-shock and I was second guessing myself on every other thing I did in the DI. I didn't want to rest the oil filler cap on the turtle deck for example, as I wasn't sure whether that was some other magical rule I was breaking but never realised. I didn't want to put my hands in the engine (it was warm and had been flown a few hours previous) and start touching things in-case I was again, doing something wrong that I wasn't aware of before - which was ultimately one of the other fail points, my engine checks were only really visual, bar the oil check. The rest of my airframe checks were fairly decent without much criticism, but my head was still spinning at this point and the examiner decided to stop the test and call it a day.
I want to take responsibility for the fail. I could've been much better, and ultimately it was my fault. But I can't shake the feeling that something about that initial 'You've already failed' response to checking the aircraft over the grass wasn't right. Yes, I broke a club rule I wasn't aware of, but I've not broken any CAA or BMAA rule.
I suppose the question I want to ask you, the reader, is, do club rules factor into a test being performed on behalf of the CAA? Should this have been a fail? I feel like it's certainly ground for a stern word from the CFI, but not grounds for failure on the GST, I'm not breaching any legal or manufacturer rules. My head is still spinning, it really knocked me back to fail so immediately. Ironically we went out and conducted a 'revision flight' with the remaining time and bar one PFL that went a bit south, the rest was to a decent GST standard.
Any thoughts on the above? Has anything like this happened to anyone else?
I recently failed an NPPL based on the Daily Inspection check (didn't even get airborne, humiliating!). I don't want to share the school or examiner name, as they're genuinely a decent person and ultimately it was my failure, I flapped under pressure and it was generally a bit poor.
One thing has stuck with me though and is keeping me up at night, I figured I'd ask on here to get some opinions from others.
Basically, as soon as the DI started, after checking the aircraft documents etc. I pulled it out of the hangar onto the grass and removed the cowling. My examiner stopped me there and said I'd already made a big mistake that is a fail. He didn't tell me what it was, and I think he was genuinely trying to help me without directly telling me, however I was completely perplexed and a bit like a deer in the headlights. Turns out that we have a local club rule (that I wasn't aware of) that we are NEVER meant to remove the cowling over the grass (in case we lose something in the grass below). I understand the value of this club rule, and I'm happy to comply with it, it makes sense. However, as this is a club rule, and there is nothing in the POH, maintenance instructions, TIL, BMAA or CAA regulations preventing me from removing the cowling over the grass, can this really be considered a fail?
never really recovered from this negative-shock and I was second guessing myself on every other thing I did in the DI. I didn't want to rest the oil filler cap on the turtle deck for example, as I wasn't sure whether that was some other magical rule I was breaking but never realised. I didn't want to put my hands in the engine (it was warm and had been flown a few hours previous) and start touching things in-case I was again, doing something wrong that I wasn't aware of before - which was ultimately one of the other fail points, my engine checks were only really visual, bar the oil check. The rest of my airframe checks were fairly decent without much criticism, but my head was still spinning at this point and the examiner decided to stop the test and call it a day.
I want to take responsibility for the fail. I could've been much better, and ultimately it was my fault. But I can't shake the feeling that something about that initial 'You've already failed' response to checking the aircraft over the grass wasn't right. Yes, I broke a club rule I wasn't aware of, but I've not broken any CAA or BMAA rule.
I suppose the question I want to ask you, the reader, is, do club rules factor into a test being performed on behalf of the CAA? Should this have been a fail? I feel like it's certainly ground for a stern word from the CFI, but not grounds for failure on the GST, I'm not breaching any legal or manufacturer rules. My head is still spinning, it really knocked me back to fail so immediately. Ironically we went out and conducted a 'revision flight' with the remaining time and bar one PFL that went a bit south, the rest was to a decent GST standard.
Any thoughts on the above? Has anything like this happened to anyone else?