Controls Free And Clear - Don't ever skip it!
 

This guy was Top of the Line - but he failed to check . . .

Worth a watch as we get in to lazy Summer's eve flying.

Absolutely. However I I see a lot of GA pilots that just give the wheel a little wiggle and then call controls free and correct. You should move the controls to the extreme corners, ie all the forward and all the way left, then all the way right then back all the way; full left then all the way right, with a look at the surfaces to make sure they were moving in the right direction.

When doing the above I once had the wheel lock at full aft. It turned out a wiring loom behind the panel had come loose and was picked up by the control cross bar and then jammed the controls. It had likely been that way for some time as the loom had evidence of dragging on the control cross bar during normal movements

If the controls have been disturbed then extra vigilance is in order. After control surface removal and replacement I have had a rudder trim jam at full travel and an elevator trim tab connected backwards

Without doubt there are a plethora of pre-flight and pre-takeoff check routines which individuals firmly believe to be best. It is my belief that before a walk round check all control locks should be removed, oil checked, fuel on selected, visual fuel check etc. should all be completed first. There may be that there are checks peculiar to the type. The walk round will then confirm all jobs have been completed; control locks have been removed, inspection hatches secured, no fuel drains leaking and flying surfaces have full and free movement in the correct sense including the trim. Once in the aeroplane full and free movement of the stick/column including the rudder and the surfaces are deflected correctly and fully. After starting there are of course a series of engine checks. With aircraft that have a rudder fixed to the nose wheel then full and free movement of the rudder can be checked taxiing to the runway.

Whilst the list seems long for anyone in a hurry for the pilot who regularly completes the checks then its a few minutes. Much was made of the military background in the video. Safety is a team discipline in the airforce and it is to a very high standard, but the pre-flight is not completed by the pilot. So, was the pre-flight routinely completed by said pilot is the question I would ask?

It's a lesson to reinforce that no matter how many hours or breadth of experience the simplest of things can catch you out. Legendary Scott Crossfield died when he flew his 210 into a CB, Chuck Yeager very nearly killed himself during an ejection when attempting something that he refused to take instruction upon from the project pilot.

The thread title is Controls free and clear but Controls free and "clear" is not an adequate check. Controls must be free and CORRECT as in moving in correct sense, Look at the control surfaces and verify correct movement. Transport category aircraft typically have control surface position indicators since the actual surfaces can't be seen.

(Doesn't work for tab driven control surfaces - such as used on DC-9 and derivatives - but that's another story)

Controls "free and full" is obviously, very important! "correct" is also critical, though less worrisome if there is no reason to believe that the flight control system has been "maintained" since the last time YOU flew it. If you have reason to think that the controls have been "maintained": Free, Full. Correct, and correct travel range! This caught me out a long time ago in a Cessna 206 which have been maintained, and I was knowingly maintenance check flying. Sure enough, the elevator trim tab did in fact move freely, fully, in the correct direction, but, with the wrong travel limits, and in the C 206, this creates a terrifying flight! - I blame the poor pitch control system design of the C 206 for this - induced maintenance error, and (for that model 206) too little clarity about checking the work.

In the mean time, the SM1019 sadly, is one of the types which would easily takeoff with the controls locked. Pour the power to it, and it's going to come off the ground whether you fly it off, or let it fly itself off. In my opinion, control locks should be designed so that achieving anything like a normal takeoff would be aerodynamically impossible without moving some flight controls. That way, you'd know during the takeoff roll that you were having difficulty getting it off the ground, and perhaps abort the takeoff. If pitch controls were to lock in a large nose down position, the pilot might realize that takeoff was impossible without control input - other than the then likelihood of a nose over in a taildragger - but that's still safer than getting airborne with the controls locked!

The SM1019 is a truly "fun" airplane to fly, with magnificent takeoff performance - but it has some unusual characteristics too, particularly in pitch. It will just fly off on its own, into a steep climb as long as the pilot controls yaw. But, once airborne, and depending upon takeoff flap setting, and C of G, could require near full down pitch control input shortly after takeoff to maintain a safe climb attitude. So if you're airborne, and cannot promptly apply nose down control, what you see in the video is a likely outcome, unless you reduce power drastically immediately. I opine that when the experienced professional pilot initiated takeoff in this plane, he was out to "play" and get an exciting takeoff, rather than "working" as a pro pilot, so he relaxed, and did not check the control locks. He overlooked that this airplane, more so than most, will bite.

Sadly, history has a habit of repeating itself:

Do we know that Mr Snodgrass ever did a pre-flight before climbing into the cockpit. Although he was long time out of the military and commercial ops; when the pilot never does more than a quick walk round. Had he expected someone else to have carried out the pre-flight and maybe they had or perhaps normally did. Of course, the simple full and free movement of the controls during taxiing ,even when running late causes no loss of time, so this accident strikes of dreadful complacency.

Some years ago when rock climbing from school our instructor emphasised self checks; he said; “one mistake frightens the living day-lights out of you which you will never forget, two mistakes will require all you training and skills but three errors are unrecoverable”. that fact remains with me 60 years on. When has there ever been a serious accident with less than three elements. There is a lot more to know of this flight.

Alas, we can never know - but what we Do know is he most certainly didn't do a Before Taxi.

Some great observations from people here - thank you. Keeps me sharp.