Downside to ownership - complacency

brian]

brian]

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brian]
Yep, started the accident chain today - here's what happened...

Went to the hangar and the weather was MVFR and I was waiting for the ceilings to go up a little before launching. So I did the preflight and left the pitot and other "remove before flight" items in place - just in case I decided to just give up and go home.

With the extra time, I pulled out what us early Bo owners call "the bible" (the book with all the e series tips and tricks). Spent some time reading and looking over maintenance items for the upcoming annual.

Then I heard a a36 do a run up and go... Wait, where's the iPad for a quick weather update?!

So I pulled the 35 out of the hangar, jumped in for a run up and go!

Wait.. Something isn't right...

Where's the airspeed? I should be indicating 50mph or so...

... Oh ... Pulled the power and turned onto the taxiway...

After a shutdown, I pulled all the "remove before flight" items... Then for a walk around, full run up, off I went...


Checklists are important. Familiarity builds complacency ....
 
Before the roll:

DG = runway alignment, no deer, no other planes on the runway.

On the roll:

Airspeed alive, rudders active, static RPM or better.

Glad you caught it early. I did a taxi back and missed getting my prop in high pitch(electric). Noticed it as I was lining up. Complacent, it will kill us just as dead.
 
It was suggested on the Cirrus Owner's site to ALWAYS do one final 360° walkaround, even if you've just done a preflight.

I always do one now.

Would surely have caught your overlooked items.
 
I do the one last walk around after my preflight.
I started the practice after taxing to the runway with my baggage door open.
 
What I like about the little grass strip I fly out of is the small community of folks that are there. We talk, help each other when we can and airplanes are treated like cars. Nothing complicated about getting up in the air. It makes the entire experience fun. (Not that flying out of the Little Rock class C isn't fun, it's just more complicated to get in the air.)

I do like the last 360 walk around - I'll have to adopt that one. Easy to miss something at the last minute.
 
Me too on the 100% final walkaround after a baggage door open (tower saw it and called me...my CFI and I were very embarrased). I do a thorough preflight with a checklist, load my passengers, and then do a walk around and really look again from a distance. Most recent "save": iPad mini on the elevator.


SixPapaCharlie said:
I do the one last walk around after my preflight.
I started the practice after taxing to the runway with my baggage door open.
Click to expand...
 
Been doing the 360 walk around for years and it has served its purpose well. Oil door open, baggage door open, iPad on the horizontal stab, and worse of all, tow bar still attached to nose gear. All caught during the 360 walk around. The tow bar would have likely resulted in a prop strike in my Mooney and that would have been very expensive!! Get in the habit of doing this, it might save your bacon some day. Be specially careful when something or someone interrupts your pre-flight.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
 
FastEddieB said:
It was suggested on the Cirrus Owner's site to ALWAYS do one final 360° walkaround, even if you've just done a preflight.

I always do one now.

Would surely have caught your overlooked items.
Click to expand...

Always have done this since training. Sometimes I turn around and go back the other way in case I missed something the first time and to make my family and onlookers wonder what the #%^} I am up to. Flying is so much fun!
 
Ownership didn't make you not follow the checklist. You're lack of discipline did.
 
When you see the same plane(by SN, not same model) every time, and it's always been right where you left it last, and you just flew it a few days ago, I can tell you from experience that ownership complacency sets in. I've experienced it, and it's something I never would have come across on a rental plane.

I had a mud dauber nest a few months back and it was something I should have caught right away, but it took me a second look to catch. On a rental, pretty rare.
 
My instructor instilled in me a final look around the plane before departure. The Dumbass check he liked to call it.
 
A walk around has been required and standard for my flying. I always make sure to do it and it has saved me a few times. A tip I can give is to physically touch every latch, fuel cap, etc on the walk around. I've found a lot of latches that looked latched but a little tug and they come right off.
 
don't feel bad. I was reading an older story in one of the flight magazines about a guy who forgot to move the tug away from the front of his plane.
 
What was the name of that book - something like "the killing zone" or something like that? I'm in the 300-700 hour "zone" they were talking about..

... time to take a read of the book ...
 
One of my more embarrassing moments was having to ask ground control at San Jose International to cancel my taxi clearance, so I could get out of the plane and pull the chock. :redface:
 
rbridges said:
don't feel bad. I was reading an older story in one of the flight magazines about a guy who forgot to move the tug away from the front of his plane.
Click to expand...

A few years back a Beechjet crew dragged a GPU about a hundred yards to the end of the runway at SLC. Oops!
 
I was called to do a charter on a Sunday morning in Kotzebue, Alaska. It was winter and snow everywhere, including the ramp, taxiways and runway. I did a quick pre-flight on the C-207, got in and started up. On the way to the runway, while still on the taxiway, I have to cross a snow berm and the plane got stuck. I shut it down, got the shovel and started digging. After about 5 minutes I had the wheels free. I rocked the plane to make sure the brakes were not frozen, then started up. I lined up on runway 9 for a straight out departure. I set the MP at 25 inches, set the rpm at 2500 rpm and off we go. ( tempurature -15F, density altitude way below sea level so I don't need full power) I pulled the nose wheel up to let the plane decide when it is time to fly, and was quickly up into the climb.

A quick call to flight service on the field to let them know where I was going and when to expect me back, # of souls and how much fuel. They acknowledged and then warned me to expect 2-3 miles visibility because of snow on my return. I thanked them and checked heater on.

I climbed up to about 1500 msl, about 1400 agl in that area. That keeps me at least 500 feet below the clouds in class G airspace. I set cruise power setting and leaned the mixture for cruise. I turn on the ADF to pick up some music, then set my GPS to my destination of Selawik where I will pick up 3 passengers.

A quick check of the guages showed the oil and cylinder head temps were fine. Oil pressure good, suction a little high but it is cold. Heading, altitude good, cowl flap closed. 50s and 60s rock music on the radio this morning, should be hearing the Sunday morning church service on the return trip.

About 20 miles west of Selawik, I started preparing to land. Not much of a checklist for the 207, fullest tank, belts fastened, landing light on for safety, nav lights, strobes on. Listening to the ATIS I decide to enter the downwind pattern and land on 27 so I don't have to turn around and taxi back to the ramp. 15 miles out first power reduction. I pull 3 inches of power initially and then use 1 inch per minute after that. At 5 miles out I start decending for pattern altitude.

Mid field downwind I set first notch of flaps and then look over the runway. As usual, it is covered with snow and some shallow berms due to the wind. Looks like I will be the first to land this morning. Turn base, next notch of flaps and check air speed. Hmmmm...A/S is 0. Big Zero. Wonder how long it has been like that? Flip on the Pitot tube heat, and within a couple seconds the A/S is 65, right where I want it.

After parking, I get out and check the tube. It must have gotten some snow in it as I was digging the plane out of the snow berm. I usually use the Pitot tube heat when there is falling snow. I didn't use it that morning because there wasn't any snow falling.

Just a typical day at the office.
 
Last edited:
brian];1544375 said:
Yep, started the accident chain today - here's what happened...

Went to the hangar and the weather was MVFR and I was waiting for the ceilings to go up a little before launching. So I did the preflight and left the pitot and other "remove before flight" items in place - just in case I decided to just give up and go home.

With the extra time, I pulled out what us early Bo owners call "the bible" (the book with all the e series tips and tricks). Spent some time reading and looking over maintenance items for the upcoming annual.

Then I heard a a36 do a run up and go... Wait, where's the iPad for a quick weather update?!

So I pulled the 35 out of the hangar, jumped in for a run up and go!

Wait.. Something isn't right...

Where's the airspeed? I should be indicating 50mph or so...

... Oh ... Pulled the power and turned onto the taxiway...

After a shutdown, I pulled all the "remove before flight" items... Then for a walk around, full run up, off I went...


Checklists are important. Familiarity builds complacency ....
Click to expand...

It is usually a break in the routine. You stopped and started your routine a couple of times. This is when you really need to be careful and redo the mental check lists. Ask me how I know! :redface:

I took off with the cowling plugs still in one time. Good thing it was winter! Those cylinder temps went sky high so quick! :eek:
 
Palmpilot said:
One of my more embarrassing moments was having to ask ground control at San Jose International to cancel my taxi clearance, so I could get out of the plane and pull the chock. :redface:
Click to expand...
Been there, done that. *blush*
Now I do a walkaround before I jump in the plane.
One usually makes the same mistake only once. :)
 
Geico266 said:
I took off with the cowling plugs still in one time. Good thing it was winter! Those cylinder temps went sky high so quick! :eek:
Click to expand...

I was taught to drape the cord connecting the cowl plugs in front of the prop for just that reason. The prop will then remove them for you and throw them clear of the aircraft if the pilot forgets.
 
DJTorrente said:
I was taught to drape the cord connecting the cowl plugs in front of the prop for just that reason. The prop will then remove them for you and throw them clear of the aircraft if the pilot forgets.
Click to expand...

Cords? I use foam rubber. :lol:

I'm too cheap for store bought cowl plugs. :redface:
 
Complacency. Stories I've seen. Woman back in the late 70s, flying some kind of Cessna we were both in Palm Springs in summer. Stops and tow bars her plane next to my Citabria on the flight line, we're both waiting for the fuel truck. After about 20 minutes the fuel truck comes and tops me off. I start my pre-flight, fuel truck moves over to the Cessna, and she walks around to the wing being fueled, pulls out a cig and lights up right under the wing(where she was out of the hot sun). One of the few times I screamed at someone. Now, I don't hate smokers per-se, but jeezalou....
 
You're not the first or last.

I wonder how this plane handled with a concrete block swinging in the breeze from a rope.

Or what the takeoff roll felt like. :eek:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/tyne/6643891.stm

Concrete block fell from aircraft
_42909943_concreteblock203.jpg

The block was found embedded in a grassed area
An investigation is under way after a concrete block fell from a plane onto a tennis court on Tyneside.

Members of the public spotted an object falling from a light aircraft on Wednesday morning.

The one-foot square slab landed at Northumberland Lawn Tennis Club in Jesmond. No-one was hurt but children were playing a short distance away.

It was later identified as a tie-down block used as one of a pair to secure light aircraft at Newcastle Airport.

...It is thought to have originated form a Piper Cherokee Aircraft which departed from the airport at 0920 BST.
Click to expand...
 
FastEddieB said:
It was suggested on the Cirrus Owner's site to ALWAYS do one final 360° walkaround, even if you've just done a preflight.

I always do one now.

Would surely have caught your overlooked items.
Click to expand...

Not to mention helping catch the occasionally overlooked wheel chock. :yikes:
 
I've subscribed to this forum for a few weeks now in hopes of picking up bits just like this to hopefully save my *** someday. The final 360 is one of those things that I'll be sure to include from now on. Seems pretty obvious now, but I hadn't thought of it before. Goes right along with "the towbar is either in use or in the baggage compartment, nowhere else"

And the note about starts and stops in the routine... I can see where it would be easy for me to forget something going through a preflight with my three year old daughter around. Another thing to watch out for I suppose.

Good forum. Thanks to everyone that contributes.

CZ
 
One does find the occasional pearl of wisdom amongst the bickering. That's what keeps me coming back.
 
I'm so looking forward to the complacency stage.

Right now, I'm still in the "what's THAT? Is that serious? How much is that going to cost??" stage.
 
A final 360 walk around up is a good idea.

Not just for pitot tube covers, but also because of chocks, towbar, and other common gotchas.
 
One of my CFIs told me I should do a 'sanity check' after the walk around. That consists of standing in front of the aircraft for 15-20 seconds looking for anything 'odd'.
 
I never make mistakes. I thought I made a mistake once but it was a mistake. :D

I definitely agree with the OP. Distractions during the checklist have been such a problem for me that I no longer let the wife and kids be there when I'm doing them. They are the most likely distraction and it happened once. I am now a believer in God, the owner of a new towbar, and a firm believer in starting a checklist over from the top if interrupted. :D
 
Oh the towbar stories! One of my primary instructors was a real towbar nazi, and instilled the rule that when your hand leaves the towbar, it better under no circumstances still be connected to the airplane. So far so good!

"A friend of mine" tried to taxi away from the ramp with the tail still tied down once.
 
Fraser said:
Oh the towbar stories! One of my primary instructors was a real towbar nazi, and instilled the rule that when your hand leaves the towbar, it better under no circumstances still be connected to the airplane. So far so good!

"A friend of mine" tried to taxi away from the ramp with the tail still tied down once.
Click to expand...

Thats a good rule to go by. When my hand leaves a tow bar, if I use one, the tow bar is already stowed.

Tail tied down, who hasn't done that at least once? At least I haven't forgotten the chocks, fired up, tried to taxi, all during a pouring rain....:redface:
 
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