Distractions can bite...

gkainz

gkainz

Final Approach
Joined
Feb 23, 2005
Messages
8,401
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Arvada, CO
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Display name:
Greg Kainz
I landed at LMO this morning for gas and ended up behind a guy who was having as much trouble coordinating the "handle down, card approved, handle up, dispense fuel, handle down" pump sequence as I do at times. So, I helped him with the pump and together we got him fueled. Meanwhile, I'm now thinking "I'm now going to be late returning to BJC. I wonder if anyone's scheduled behind me?" Distraction 1.

I dragged 03Q up to the pump, successfully completed the pump magic dance the first time, and discover that they've upgraded the pump nozzle since I was last there. The cute little blue cap over the nozzle now allows a cup of fuel to remain hidden, and splash over the wing as the nozzle heads toward the fuel filler. Distraction 2.

Drag the hose to the other tank, put it down and go searching for towels to wipe down the wing. Distraction 3.

Fuel up the other tank without additional issues, retract the hose, and then argue with the pump about printing a receipt, while 2 airplanes queue up behind me. Distraction 4.

Started up, run up and depart for BJC, just in time to hear TWR handing out a top-notch Marine DI level dressing down to an experimental who turned left instead of right and caused this particular controller all kinds of grief. Humorous distraction, but not within my chain of distractions. TWR then called traffic at my 9 o'clock (the same guy who just got the chastisement), which caused me, apparently for the first time since fueling, to actually LOOK OUT THE STBD WINDOW... to discover ... no fuel cap. Great. Ok, no more distractions! Land the plane.

The folks at LMO checked around and didn't see the fuel cap, I drove back up there and they took me down the taxiway, around the run-up area and across the threshold of the runway - no cap. Apparently it's in the weeds somewhere. So, replacement cap installed and another lesson learned. No excuses - and it was even on a low wing!!!

Talking to another club member about this and he suggests sticking the fuel cap in one's back pocket. Then if CRS strikes again, the lump in the seat ought to be a good reminder to put the cap back on!
 
Ouch! Sorry Greg. We're all only human, and it really could happen to anyone, even in a low wing. No bent metal or torn skin, so everything turned out OK. If it makes you feel better I forgot to latch the door on my way to OSH. I berated the line crew for being slow (trying to outrun storms), and then had to return to close the door.
 
Bummer! These are all symptoms of one distraction: Preoccupation with time.

My corrective action; stop, review, proceed with checklist from square one.
 
Greg,

Shoulda gone to 18V instead. :D

The only distractions there are typically the SE-5's.
 
Yep, that's the way that stuff goes. I missed an oilcap the other day cost me a landing and a major clean up.
 
cessna182b said:
Maybe incidents like this are the reason some airplane fuel caps have retainer chains.

Dave
Click to expand...

All 4 of mine do...:rolleyes: I always physically open the covers and grab the caps on my tips if someone else fuels it.
 
I did the same thing a few years ago in the Mooney. Noticed it as soon as I got into IMC. Like you, it was at the end of a bunch of distractions.

Fortunately, they found it when they were mowing the grass, saving me the money of buying a new one.
 
I also got distracted at KLBF Sunday after interrupting the line boy and asking him if I could use his ladder to stick the tanks after he added fuel and left the right cap off on the 182. I saw it while sticking the left side. My habit of using any time I'm on a ladder to get a good look at the top if both wings, paid off. Positive reinforcement for that habit. Yay.

At that point I was still in "in-bound" mode, still was going to get lunch, go in and pay for the gas, take a OperationFly photo, etc.

But I broke my rule that if the cap comes off, it's back in place before descending the ladder. I let the line boy's desire to move on to fueling the other tank, rush me.

Something an old CFI taught me a long time ago and another reinforced later on, was after the pre-flight, step AWAY from the aircraft a good distance and look carefully at it from afar.

During the preflight your nose is up against it looking at specifics, but your eyes will see things out of place better when you're looking at the big picture.

It also makes you slow down a bit.

On Cessnas I do this "walk away" toward the rear since it reveals the most info. You can easily see a missing fuel cap from just past the tail, standing about 1/2 an aircraft length back.

One of the CFIs said he found a broken and barely hanging together main wing spar this way. The dihedral on a Skyhawk looked wrong compared to the one sitting next to it.

When they took it apart, someone had overstressed it and broke/bent it.

Scary part? It flew twice after that before anyone noticed it. Big huge ratings academy type flight school.

Our caps do have chains so the pounding sound on top of the wings can indicate that you left a cap off, and each clank will leave a nice dent up there. Maybe $200 a clank to repair it. Right up until the wimpy little chain lets go.
 
BTDT

oil and gas

oil took 3 paper towel rolls

gas cap was still sitting on the pump when i got back
 
My trip to Eastport last Friday was the very first time I used a selfserve pump at an airport. The whole process started off a bit daunting. It took me 4 tries to get the pumps working (wrong card, too much time figuring out the answer to how much fuel; gallons or $$$$). Then I lost the damned receipt!
You have my sympathies.
 
Q: what's the harm in not cleaning up fuel off the wing? Will it corrode or something?

(serious question)
 
It happens. I've noticed the cap sitting on the wing once at runup. Fortunately I caught it before I left. Had to tell ground I was going off frequency, shut down, get out, and put it back on.
 
Jaybird180 said:
Q: what's the harm in not cleaning up fuel off the wing? Will it corrode or something?

(serious question)
Click to expand...

No, it'll just evaporate leaving behind the blue dye. I think many people consider it a fire hazard as well.
 
I did the same thing on 4th of July weekend.

My fueling pattern is always the same. Uncap all four caps. Connect grounding cable. Do card swipe transaction. Pull fuel hose out to wing furthest from pump. Go back and turn pump on. Fuel tip tank, replace cap. Fuel inboard tank, replace cap. Fuel other inboard tank, replace cap. Fuel tip tank, replace camp. Shut off pump. Reel up hose. Disconnect ground cable. Get receipt. Every single time, except once...

I was at ERY and just made probably the most difficult landing ever. I had all 3 wheels down, and was still almost getting blown off the runway. I go to fuel, and the hose is on an inertial reel, and while on my pilot side main tank (wing furthest from the pump), just as I'm finishing topping it off, the hose starts to retract on me and I have to fight with it to keep it from coming out of my hands. I fill the other 2 remaining tanks and cap them. I go in the FBO, use the boys room, let Kaiser out of the plane and let him do his thing in the grass, climb in the plane, check to make sure I've disconnected the grounding cable, start up the plane and take off on 27. (Or 28, or 29, whatever the E/W is)

On climb out, I look at my right tip tank and see a bit a fuel venting, and think that's odd, then I look at my left main tank and see A LOT of fuel venting. I circle to the right (I invoked 91.3) and land on the grass runway 22, and when I taxi to the fuel pump there's the cap sitting on the ground. 15 gallons of fuel vented in that short of time. The little bit of fuel venting from the right tip was a bit of looseness in the locking mechanism and a couple clockwise twists fixed that. I now do another visual check before starting. The main tank openings are *just* out of view when seated normally.
 
I make a control surfaces, fuel and caps check preflight of the airplane even if it has been sitting on the line for only 15 minutes. No full run up but a quick mag and carb heat check during taxi. I'll omit the checklist if I just flew the plane but i'll go over these few things every time. I'm a new pilot but i've read ntsb reports.


That said i'm still terrified that I will leave a fuel cap off. Just last night, I hurried through a pre-flight because I was trying to make it to lexington, nc before they closed at 8pm. I "hurried" the pre-flight but it actually took longer, I know I was rushed and I double-triple checked things because I thought I was rushed and was paranoid I might forget something! I was a little stressed out, but once the wheels left the pavement and we were on course and climbing nicely, everything was ok :thumbsup:
 
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I test flew the new old cap this morning - works good, holds gas, but needs new paint. The cool thing was it was free. The guy who drove me around looking for mine said he had a few laying around and if one looked like it would fit, I was welcome to it.

Guess how many times I looked out both windows and saw, actually SAW, gas caps in place today? :) and then mentally kicked myself in the butt with a "how in the HECK did you not see that missing cap until WHEN?" ...

looked right passed it ...
- pulling away from the fuel pump
- watching wing clearance up the aisle
- watching wing clearance past taxi lights
- checking controls "free, clear and correct"
- checking final before taking runway
...
 
dell30rb said:
I make a control surfaces, fuel and caps check preflight of the airplane even if it has been sitting on the line for only 15 minutes. No full run up but a quick mag and carb heat check during taxi. I'll omit the checklist if I just flew the plane but i'll go over these few things every time. I'm a new pilot but i've read ntsb reports.
Click to expand...

Just curious -- why omit the run-up? I've had plenty of problems come up over the years (fouled plugs, and now TWO broken plug wires) that yeah... a quick mag check may or may not have caught, but are real obvious at 1700 RPM...

gkainz said:
I test flew the new old cap this morning - works good, holds gas, but needs new paint. The cool thing was it was free. The guy who drove me around looking for mine said he had a few laying around and if one looked like it would fit, I was welcome to it.
Click to expand...

You might want to check the age/flexibility of the rubber/whatever magical material is used if your caps have 'emergency' vents that blow out if there's an overpressure in the tank. Mine do... don't know about yours. I don't know if I'd want a used cap without ordering the $6 kit to replace 'em...

gkainz said:
Guess how many times I looked out both windows and saw, actually SAW, gas caps in place today? :) and then mentally kicked myself in the butt with a "how in the HECK did you not see that missing cap until WHEN?" ...

looked right passed it ...
- pulling away from the fuel pump
- watching wing clearance up the aisle
- watching wing clearance past taxi lights
- checking controls "free, clear and correct"
- checking final before taking runway
...
Click to expand...

It's amazing during those days after you've had a "I got complacent" moment, how much you suddenly "see", isn't it? :)
 
denverpilot said:
One of the CFIs said he found a broken and barely hanging together main wing spar this way. The dihedral on a Skyhawk looked wrong compared to the one sitting next to it.

When they took it apart, someone had overstressed it and broke/bent it.

Scary part? It flew twice after that before anyone noticed it. Big huge ratings academy type flight school.
Click to expand...

I can belive it, folks don't report things and others just don't see it. I've found a badly broken rear spar before. Don't know how long it had been like that other than <100hrs
 
I actually stopped my training during the Pvt because of an NSTB report I had read.

An ATP rated, ex-military commander had crashed and burned after departure. He had made a fuel stop in his Bo. Witnesses, including the lineman, said the pilot had ordered fuel but did not supervise. He used the bathroom inside the FBO and then hopped aboard without even a walk-around his aircraft.

After departure the pilot was heard to announce on CTAF he had a loose fuel cap rattling on it's chain and was returning to land. In the turn the cap broke it's chain and lodged in an aileron while at low altitude. He spiraled in into a smoking hole.

I thought if it could happen to him what chances do I have? After serious thought I decided to be really anal about that kind of stuff. To date, my only event involving any cap has been a broken gasket on a feul cap which permitted fuel to stream over the wing. I returned to land and rotated the gasket to a tight fit. At the next suitable field I replaced all the fuel cap gaskets.
 
denverpilot said:
You might want to check the age/flexibility of the rubber/whatever magical material is used if your caps have 'emergency' vents that blow out if there's an overpressure in the tank. Mine do... don't know about yours. I don't know if I'd want a used cap without ordering the $6 kit to replace 'em...
Click to expand...
old cap was sans gasket ring and vent ... we had both in the hangar supply boxes.

denverpilot said:
It's amazing during those days after you've had a "I got complacent" moment, how much you suddenly "see", isn't it? :)
Click to expand...
understatement of the month ... :mad2:
 
silver-eagle said:
My trip to Eastport last Friday - - - -
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:eek:) I recently learned at the Wiscasset self-service pump that my Phillips-Conoco card didn't "read." Maybe it had something to do with the fact that I'd used it to cure the "locked out of the house" trick on Vinalhaven Island during the prior week. And those self-service modules should not be situated such that the sun falls directly on the screen -- hard to read the screen.

HR
 
Lawreston said:
And those self-service modules should not be situated such that the sun falls directly on the screen -- hard to read the screen.
Click to expand...

No kidding. I've seen so many self-service fuel pumps, even with velcro sun covers on them, that had totally unreadable washed out LCD screens due to the sun beating down on them all day (in the South, mostly!). If it weren't for "knowing" what to expect on the screen from using other similar pumps, one would be stuck, unable to operate the unit to get it to dispense fuel. Those screens should have been placed in a vertical orientation, not the 45-degree orientation they are at. Or maybe put a metal shade hood over them?

Airport%20Fuel%20Pump-A.jpg
 
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