Once More Around The Aircraft Before Departure
by Aviation & Safety Editor Gary Wiblin
Some time ago I wrote in this column of the need for a
pre-take-off walk-around. Not a replacement for the pre-flight
inspection mind you but, just before entering the cockpit, a final
walk around the entire aircraft. This is because, more often than
not, pilots and passengers do not enter the aircraft immediately
after the pre-flight inspection has been completed. The reason I
would like to elaborate on this subject is because there have
recently been three incidents that I know of where a pre-flight
walk-around would have saved the day. I will describe all three
scenarios in order to hammer home the vital need for a pre-take-off
walk-around, EVERY time. No matter what!
Remember, in general aviation we do not have a ground crew
looking after our best interests just before start-up so the final
responsibility rests with the designated pilot in command. It is
vital that this be remembered, as, even in private flying, it is
often that two pilots fly together. It must be clearly agreed upon
exactly who is to be the pilot in command at all times. Let's take
a look at the first scenario:
I was on a trip into central Africa to offload supplies
and had taken a company pilot along to share the flying due to
flight and duty time constraints. When preparing to depart one
particular airfield, we agreed that my relief pilot would fly this
leg but we came to no definite agreement as to who was responsible
for the pre-flight inspection and this became a shared affair. In
this case, this was the mistake. Neither one of us was really
certain exactly what had and had not been thoroughly inspected.
Shortly after take-off the nose baggage compartment popped open and
we had to return for landing. Each of us presumed that the other
had inspected the latches. In this case it was not a major problem
but rather an irritating inconvenience. A pre-take-off walk-around
would have prevented this.
On another occasion a company pilot was offloading passengers at
an airfield. He personally removed the baggage from the nose
baggage compartment, locked and checked the nose baggage
compartment latches, and then proceeded towards the tail of the
aircraft where his passengers were saying their goodbyes to each
other, and to him. Unbeknown to him, one of the passengers had gone
around to the nose baggage compartment in search of his bag and had
in fact re-opened it. When he saw the empty compartment he not only
closed it again but also actually tried to lock the catches. At a
glance it now looked as if the baggage compartment was locked,
which is exactly what the pilot expected to see. As he had locked
the compartment just seconds before, when he now wanted to board
and start-up, he had every reason to expect that it was still
locked. His cursory glance at the aircraft before boarding was
obviously not enough. As the aircraft began gathering speed for
take-off the baggage compartment lid popped up and was restrained
by the safety catch. The take-off was aborted.
The third example was so typical that any of us could be
caught out if not careful enough. Once again the pilot was
unpacking the nose baggage compartment of a Baron and was putting
the removed bags on the ground behind him. After removing the last
bag he locked the baggage compartment and turned around to pick up
some bags. One of the passengers was also helping and they each
picked up a couple of bags and walked to the vehicle, which was
parked just meters away. They said their goodbyes and the pilot
turned back to the aircraft, ran his eyes over its entire length,
was satisfied that everything was locked, and boarded the aircraft,
locking the cabin door behind him. He was still busy running
through his pre-start checks when the driver of the vehicle yelled
from outside that one of the bags was apparently missing. The pilot
exited the aircraft to re-check the baggage compartment only to
find the offending bag lying right in front of the right-hand
propeller. From the point at which he had stood casting a
suspicious eye over the aircraft the bag had been out of sight. If
he had taxied into it he would have had a damaged propeller and one
highly irate passenger.
I have now amended my own rule to be applied somewhat more
harshly. I now do a pre-take-off walk-around just before boarding,
every single time. Even if I have shut down only briefly for some
obscure reason, before once again starting up I will exit the
aircraft, do a pre-take-off walk-around, and then re-board the
aircraft and start up. I am now convinced that Murphy is always
there, waiting for a lapse in concentration. Do yourself a favor
and make this your rule too and you will save yourself many
embarrassing, and sometimes dangerous, moments.
(Gary Wiblin is a South African pilot and editor of Aviation
& Safety, an email publication distributed worldwide --
and a good friend of Aero-News.Net)