Read Between the LinesĮvery good preflight starts with a basic, yet valuable tool: a checklist. Let’s have a look at how you can hone your inspection skills and go above and beyond a routine preflight. As these pilots, including the pilot of the Piper described above, have discovered, a good preflight can be the difference between a safe flight and quite possibly your last flight. Consider this: NTSB aviation accident data show that in the last 10 years, poor preflight inspections caused or contributed to 156 general aviation accidents and resulted in 41 fatalities. Then, there is the strong tendency to fall victim to complacency, especially when dealing with an aircraft you fly all the time. However, as was discovered in the ensuing investigation, the pilot was unaware of a missing item required by an airworthiness directive (AD), which, if caught during preflight, would likely have avoided such grave danger.įor many pilots, the preflight inspection cliché of “kick the tires and light the fires” is difficult to shake. Calm nerves, quick thinking, and properly executed emergency procedures saved the day as the pilot safely landed the smoldering plane on a nearby interstate highway and all aboard exited without injuries. A fire broke out minutes later, filling the small airplane cabin with smoke and flames. The passengers first realized there was a problem when they noticed a burning smell and excessive heat coming from beneath the aircraft’s backseat. During the return leg, the pilot and his passengers-a mother, her 5-year old son, and 14-year old daughter-experienced what many pilots only have nightmares about: an in-flight fire. On the evening of July 12, 2002, a pilot operating a Piper Warrior II departed Wiley Post airport (KPWA) in Bethany, Okla., to McKinney, Texas, to pick up a friend’s family and head back to KPWA. Reprinted with permission from FAA Safety Briefing Going Beyond Preflight Tips for Perfecting your Preflight Inspection
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