I’m going to go with no. He probably only learnt that ‘first hour’ thing yesterday.

Manufacturers also stipulate when external inspections are to be carried out in accordance with the FCOM, and those are generally no where near pushback time. Plenty of time for a wasp to build a wasp nest.

Not at all, but if you come here as a "know all" without any relevant experience, then you can expect your views to be challenged.

I guess the obvious solution is you have to make it practically impossible to miss, and obvious to all, that they are still fitted. Does this mean extra, extra long tails? Tying them back to the nose gear pin so they have to come off/out as a set? Tying them back to the towbar? Something like that? Unfortunately this probably means that the covers in use are airport specific, as the aircraft carried ones would not usually need the extra fittings (if any). During pushback/engine start when the pilot is talking to the guy on the headset, surely it would not be too hard for a challenge and response to be implemented somewhere in that exchange.

The following is a non-exhaustive list of the typical activities that occur in the cockpit of an airliner during the last 15 minutes or so before pushback:

• The take-off briefing is completed.
• The final load sheet figures are received and the data entered into the Flight Management Computer (FMC).
• The final performance figures are calculated and the data entered into the FMC.
• The refuelling is completed, along with the associated paperwork.
• The ATC clearance is obtained. At many airports around the world, that clearance is not received until about five minutes before pushback. A change to the expected clearance might well require another calculation of the performance data, data re-entry, updating the FMC with a revised SID and an amended briefing.
• Last minute maintenance activities, including certification of the Aircraft Maintenance Log by the releasing engineer and acceptance by the PIC. That sometimes involves the write-up of a deferred defect by the engineer, requiring the PIC to consult the aircraft's Minimum Equipment List (MEL). The MEL might impose performance restrictions or additional procedures that require amended performance calculations and/or re-briefing.

Most of that activity requires the presence of BOTH pilots for cross-checking and briefing purposes, and it is not unusual for that process to be interrupted on multiple occasions by well-meaning engineers, traffic staff and cabin crew as they provide updates on maintenance, passenger boarding, cargo loading, etc. It is a massive time management exercise that doesn't leave room for a pilot to leave the cockpit. In the majority of cases there are only two pilots on board; a third pilot is normally only required for long-haul flights.

You might like to note that "perving on passengers" isn't featured on that list.

That's no surprise. :rolleyes:

Your words, not mine.

Problem 1: At this airport mud wasps can apparently put mud into a PITOT tube within 30 mins of an aircraft arrival. So PITOT covers need to be fitted and left ON during and after the pilot's walk-around.

Problem 2: To fit and remove the covers, (on many airliners) mobile steps are required, making it therefore an operation undertaken by engineers, who need to go and find and bring a set of steps to the stand.

Problem 3: Apparently engineers are few and far between at this airport or with some operators, so tech log completion can be hectic, by harassed single engineers, and double checks not carried out.

Problem 4: Looking to see if covers are on the flight deck is bad practice. The actual external airframe needs to be checked for covers and pins removed, because ground staff and engineers might use their own covers and pins to save time.

Potential solutions?:

1: Ground crew holds up the three PITOT covers and the steering pin to PIC during the wave-off before taxi.

2: Sew long strings to the PITOT covers to enable the velcro to be unpeeled and the covers pulled off from the ground, without needing to use steps.
Or, fit the covers to fishing rod type arrangements so they can be fitted and removed without steps.

3: Both pilots open their DVs and lean out to check that covers have been removed just before push-back. (A real pain to have to move EFB / plates from window, then unstrap and take headset off etc).(On some aircraft, not all the PITOT probes can be seen that way).

4: Come in 10 mins early to read all the NOTAMS, and/or read them again - more thoroughly - during the cruise to the destination airport.

5: Stop airlines offering ever-lower seat prices, necessitating ever more corners to be cut. Make them compete instead on service, punctuality, baggage allowance, comfort, food, etc etc, but not below a defined minimum seat cost. ( Ha ha ha, good luck with that one !).

6: At least do something to mitigate the mud wasp problem. Whatever procedures are currently in place are not working safely enough.

:ok:

According to CASA, mud wasps can build nests and significantly block pitot tubes within 20 minutes. Another study found that wasp activity could be observed around the nose of the aircraft within a few minutes of arrival at the gate (https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ar...type=printable).

Not all aircraft have sliding DV windows. The A350 that was involved in the latest incident is one such aircraft.

The Brisbane Airport Corporation has taken steps to reduce (but not eliminate) the mud wasp population. According to a recent media release, wasp activity has been reduced by 64%.
(https://newsroom.bne.com.au/success-...asp-reduction/)

In my view, the most practical 'solution' is a Tech Log entry combined with:

Seriously?? When I did A350 differences training (A330/A350), we had to do two sectors in the aircraft with a training captain (1 x PF/1 x PM), followed by four sectors of consolidation before we could go back to flying the original ‘type’.

Why don't civilian aircraft adopt military ways. A panel in the aircraft where the covers are stored. If a cover is missing plane doesn't fly.

This has been COVERED above. Engineers sometimes use different covers, not those from the aircraft, in this case due the wasps.
It is usually the case that they are from the stowage in the flight deck, like the gear pins.

I see what you did there!

It already a legal exercise! An Engineer (should) remove the covers and certify that the work has been carried out by signing the tech log for the work, and then the CRS for the release of the aircraft as fit to fly. A legally required signature in a legally required document.

One thing I have been pondering as an Engineer, the usual process is do and verify the job, and then certify for the work in the tech log. In this scenario, the Engineer removes, or observes and verifies covers being removed, goes up stairs, gains access to aircraft, fights way down the aisle to flight deck, gains entry to tech, makes entry and certifies, deals with last minute cabin issue, gets off aircraft, jet bridge off, possible ATC delay etc etc......how long for this process to be carried out? Enough time for problem wasps to do their thing? So we end up with a hole in the process where you certify the work and then pull the covers immediately before pushback.......as long as they have been remembered by you as you deal with 2 other aircraft and deal with a customer airline who is too focused on OTP than basic standards and safety. So strictly speaking we end up with an incorrect process and hence risk to safe flight.

Just to verify also that pitot covers are not stowed onboard large aircraft. In fact over the past few years when parking aircraft we did not have enough company stock in stores to cover the whole fleet!

Someone mentioned having all 3 covers joined together by cord with a warning penant right in front of tug drivers window and so visible to pushback team. Seems best solution to me, but doesn't solve the process problem.

So the certification of removal is done before the removal happens?

If yes, that’s commercial pressure perverting safety procedure, pure and simple.

@Buzzbox, well it has appeared on my licence as a combined A330/A350 rating, but I have never yet set foot in the latter, nor done a differences course. :)

@uxb99 Because a cover or a pin on the flight deck does not prove that the aircraft is ready to fly - another cover or pin might have been fitted to the aircraft. Those who turn round to look at the cover and pin storage on the flight-deck to confirm covers and pins removed are setting themselves up for a massive fail one day. The actual aircraft needs to be checked externally.