Dodged a bullet

Timbeck2

Timbeck2

Final Approach
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Timbeck2
First of all, not MY plane but I feel that as a pilot, I was equally responsible. Last weekend I flew my Cherokee up to Falcon Field (KFFZ) to meet up with a pilot buddy to fly his Arrow to Bullhead City (KIFP). He has a covered parking spot at KFFZ so the plan was to pull his Arrow out, pull my Cherokee in and go. Well, he needed to get fuel first and he told me that he'd do his preflight afterwards. After we loaded up, he started it up and we taxied the couple hundred yards or so to the fuel pump without our headsets on. He looked at me and said, "Ya know, I've never taxied before without my headset on. It sounds different, almost like a metallic noise I never noticed."
As we neared the pump, I noticed a couple of mechanics walking from a hangar nearby towards us. We pulled up to the pump and since I was in the right seat, I got out first and walked towards the nose to hook up the ground wire. I stopped in my tracks as I noticed that the tow bar was still attached. The mechanics walked up smiling and admitted that they were just waiting for a circus.
If that thing had bounced up a hit the three blade prop..but instead it just ground down the handle of the tow bar to a nice shiny reminder of what NOT to do.
 
Timbeck2 said:
First of all, not MY plane but I feel that as a pilot, I was equally responsible. Last weekend I flew my Cherokee up to Falcon Field (KFFZ) to meet up with a pilot buddy to fly his Arrow to Bullhead City (KIFP). He has a covered parking spot at KFFZ so the plan was to pull his Arrow out, pull my Cherokee in and go. Well, he needed to get fuel first and he told me that he'd do his preflight afterwards. After we loaded up, he started it up and we taxied the couple hundred yards or so to the fuel pump without our headsets on. He looked at me and said, "Ya know, I've never taxied before without my headset on. It sounds different, almost like a metallic noise I never noticed."
As we neared the pump, I noticed a couple of mechanics walking from a hangar nearby towards us. We pulled up to the pump and since I was in the right seat, I got out first and walked towards the nose to hook up the ground wire. I stopped in my tracks as I noticed that the tow bar was still attached. The mechanics walked up smiling and admitted that they were just waiting for a circus.
If that thing had bounced up a hit the three blade prop..but instead it just ground down the handle of the tow bar to a nice shiny reminder of what NOT to do.
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It's the little things... Just one little moment of inattention can cost you an engine teardown. Glad it didn't bounce!
 
Yikes! Glad it didn't catch the prop!

I remember back when I was doing my PP training, I had attached the tow bar to the airplane post flight and was about to push it back into the hangar, when I wanted to go behind the airplane and make sure everything was clear inside the hangar. I set the tow bar down, still attached to the nose wheel and my CFI said "Ryan, this is one thing I don't ever want to see you do again. Never leave the tow bar attached to the airplane without it being in your hands."

And still to this day, I have never forgotten this valuable piece of advice!
 
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Wow - lucky! And great dodging of the bullet. Yeah, if that had popped up, I'd wager that at least one prop blade would be toast, there'd be an inspection on the Rotax gearbox, and possible some nosewheel skirt damage.

This is a great reminder to never rush the checklist or a preflight. Thanks for sharing!
 
Wow, that's lucky.

I witnessed a not-so-lucky guy last summer.

Big CAP event -- cadet encampment. Hundreds of cadet rides given over two days. As I was loading up my plane, a neighboring one pulled up. At the time, the CAP shutdown checklist said to run the engine at 1800 RPM for two minutes "if possible" prior to shutdown. The neighboring plane came to a stop with a wooden chock under the prop. He dialed it up to 1800 RPM, and I saw the chocks hovering under the prop. I ran behind his strut waving my arms, screaming my head off, and giving the engine cut and stop signs. Not surprisingly, he didn't see or hear me. The chocks got flung in the opposite direction and the engine had to be torn down and the prop replaced.

The CAP checklist doesn't have that entry anymore.

The poor pilot was mortified. He was not at all a happy camper.
 
MAKG1 said:
Wow, that's lucky.

I witnessed a not-so-lucky guy last summer.

Big CAP event -- cadet encampment. Hundreds of cadet rides given over two days. As I was loading up my plane, a neighboring one pulled up. At the time, the CAP shutdown checklist said to run the engine at 1800 RPM for two minutes "if possible" prior to shutdown. The neighboring plane came to a stop with a wooden chock under the prop. He dialed it up to 1800 RPM, and I saw the chocks hovering under the prop. I ran behind his strut waving my arms, screaming my head off, and giving the engine cut and stop signs. Not surprisingly, he didn't see or hear me. The chocks got flung in the opposite direction and the engine had to be torn down and the prop replaced.

The CAP checklist doesn't have that entry anymore.

The poor pilot was mortified. He was not at all a happy camper.
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What was the point of that checklist entry?
 
I had a lineman chase down a Sabreliner that did that at Teterboro... Caught him at the corner of K and L taxiways...whew!
 
I could see how this would happen. IDK about anyone else but while I do a thorough pre-flight and go through the checklist before my first flight of the day every time without fail I don't necessarily feel like I need to if I'm just taxing from a parking spot to a gas pump/hangar/other parking spot.
 
So far only gats jar on the wing and leaving the chokes are the most embarrassing things I've done.
 
Ryanb said:
Yikes! Glad it didn't catch the prop!

I remember back when I was doing my PP training, I had attached the tow bar to the airplane post flight and was about to push it back into the hangar, when I wanted to go behind the airplane and make sure everything was clear inside the hangar. I set the tow bar down, still attached to the nose wheel and my CFI said "Ryan, this is one thing I don't ever want to see you do again. Never leave the tow bar attached to the airplane without it being in your hands."

And still to this day, I have never forgotten this valuable piece of advice!
Click to expand...
My CFI says the same. It's hanging on the wall or in your hands at all times.
 
I guess that's one of those never again moments, glad it worked out the way it did. Yah I stopped in Sitka one time and the line folks chalked the tires, well you don't go far with the wheels chalked....:)
 
Timbeck2 said:
First of all, not MY plane but I feel that as a pilot, I was equally responsible. Last weekend I flew my Cherokee up to Falcon Field (KFFZ) to meet up with a pilot buddy to fly his Arrow to Bullhead City (KIFP). He has a covered parking spot at KFFZ so the plan was to pull his Arrow out, pull my Cherokee in and go. Well, he needed to get fuel first and he told me that he'd do his preflight afterwards. After we loaded up, he started it up and we taxied the couple hundred yards or so to the fuel pump without our headsets on. He looked at me and said, "Ya know, I've never taxied before without my headset on. It sounds different, almost like a metallic noise I never noticed."
As we neared the pump, I noticed a couple of mechanics walking from a hangar nearby towards us. We pulled up to the pump and since I was in the right seat, I got out first and walked towards the nose to hook up the ground wire. I stopped in my tracks as I noticed that the tow bar was still attached. The mechanics walked up smiling and admitted that they were just waiting for a circus.
If that thing had bounced up a hit the three blade prop..but instead it just ground down the handle of the tow bar to a nice shiny reminder of what NOT to do.
Click to expand...
Have a cfii friend that instructed in a 172 doing approaches and when they got out of the airplane found the tow bar hanging on the nose gear. And another friend that got in a hurry and now has a newer prop on his Bonanza and a new tow bar, he did not make airborne though. Easier to see how you would forget it just taxiing to the pumps.
 
It's experiences like this that I added an additional step to my pre-flight. After I complete my pre-flight, and then any other pre-start chores, I walk around the plane one last time to make sure I've forgotten, or missed, nothing.

I have been pre-flighting exactly the same way for 30 years. Every flight, exactly the same way. While this is good practice it can create another problem. The problem being you only look at the same things, the same way every time. If there is something that's not on your pre-flight checklist you might not see it.

So, after my pre-flight I finish whatever chores I need to do before start-up, then I take a deep breath and take one more slow walk around the airplane. I try to do it with a critical eye looking at everything from a bit of a distance. I also use this brief moment to relax myself, maybe stretch a bit, a get myself focused for the flight.

This process helped me discover a low tire (that didn't seem low during my pre-flight), a screw driver I had left sitting on wing and an external baggage door that didn't have one of the cam-locks closed.
 
The only time that tow bar is ever attached to an airplane is when it is in your hand . . . .
 
One of my favorites....
62e7bbaf52142f60924a44199e8ad423.jpg
 
Years ago, a Beechjet from a neighboring charter company dragged a GPU from the FBO ramp to the end of the runway at SLC. I guess the crew couldn't be bothered with waiting for the FBO's ground crew and forgot to notice the GPU still attached to their airplane. Oops!
 
Ryanb said:
I remember back when I was doing my PP training, I had attached the tow bar to the airplane post flight and was about to push it back into the hangar ...
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Damn! Pilots are starting earlier than ever. Previously it was guys getting their certificate in 40 hours, now this!;););););)
 
Sounds to me that if he's able to push a plan back into the hangar then he's waaaaaaay late on the PP training. ;)
 
Interesting, at my school SOP is to put the bar on to push the plane back in the hangar and it stays on till someone pulls it out, wonder if that's bad practice
 
All of this confirms that my doing one final "big picture" lap around the aircraft is a really good idea. Especially if I have gotten distracted by returning to the hangar for something.
 
One of the things that I've often seen, and am considering...

If you have a two-part tow-bar, keep the pin on the keyring. That way, you can't start the engine with the pin still in the towbar.
 
AggieMike88 said:
All of this confirms that my doing one final "big picture" lap around the aircraft is a really good idea. Especially if I have gotten distracted by returning to the hangar for something.
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^^^^^^This^^^^^^

I have caught several items on this large lap around the plane.

Tow bar...cones that I failed to move...chocks...even luggage sitting outside the plane...
 
AggieMike88 said:
All of this confirms that my doing one final "big picture" lap around the aircraft is a really good idea. Especially if I have gotten distracted by returning to the hangar for something.
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I fly for a living and I do just that. I also double check all the doors and latches at that time to ensure closed and locked.

Just a side note, the Piper PA-350 Chieftain has had some pretty bad crashes from the nose cargo door coming open right after rotation, so that one is checked and double checked.
 
Kelvin said:
^^^^^^This^^^^^^

I have caught several items on this large lap around the plane.

Tow bar...cones that I failed to move...chocks...even luggage sitting outside the plane...
Click to expand...


Yep.. minimum preflight inspection is a walkaround. Check chocks, visually inspect control surfaces, look for open compartments etc... Even for the shortest stops.

Lesson learned, I stopped in New Bern one day just to take a leak. While I was taking care of business some enterprising line guy came in and chocked a wheel. Started up, called tower for taxi clearance, throttled up.. whoops!! "Uh tower, I forgot the chocks, BRB"
 
FLYGUYRY said:
Interesting, at my school SOP is to put the bar on to push the plane back in the hangar and it stays on till someone pulls it out, wonder if that's bad practice
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I sure think so. I'm an advocate of the "... towbar isn't attached to the strut unless my hand is on it" school of thought.

Last year, a fellow at my airport took his towbar for a flight. Another pilot saw him depart and radioed him to come back. By that time, I was parked at the last-chance area and took the photo below as he landed. No prop contact, no damage. Dodged a bullet.

fullsizeoutput_3ba.jpeg
 
Squirrelfury said:
I sure think so. I'm an advocate of the "... towbar isn't attached to the strut unless my hand is on it" school of thought.

Last year, a fellow at my airport took his towbar for a flight. Another pilot saw him depart and radioed him to come back. By that time, I was parked at the last-chance area and took the photo below as he landed. No prop contact, no damage. Dodged a bullet.

View attachment 53737
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Hmm...do you guys have to pull it out of the hangar there? I'm not sure how someone would forget to take the bar off if you pull it out of the hangar, but I could see it happening if you just park on the ramp or grass and only have to push it into place, not pull it out.
 
FastEddieB said:
I don't think that's what many here are advocating at all.

I advocate a 360° final walkaround, but only after a normal preflight, never in lieu of one.
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Yes... I always do a "full" preflight for the first flight of the day.
 
dell30rb said:
Yes... I always do a "full" preflight for the first flight of the day.
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Which you're free to do, truncating or eliminating the preflight on all subsequent legs on a given day.

Personally, the logic escapes me. Why, exactly, is something significant that needs attention less likely to develop on flights on a given day, as opposed to the last leg, to be caught on the next day's preflight?

I still recommend a full preflight every time one is out of the plane and in a position to do so. I don't buy "It's too much trouble", "It takes too much time" or "It's just not necessary" as convincing reasons not to.
 
To each his own, but a full preflight takes time. If I fly one hour and stop to take a bathroom break, I don't see the need to go through the whole song and dance when I was just flying the airplane 5 minutes ago. I mean why do we wait a whole year to do an annual?

Personally I do a full preflight on the first flight of the day. That means oil, gas, get down on my knees, inspect brakes, gear, tires, pressure, turn on the lights, look closely at all of the control surface attachments, flaps, flap actuator, control cables, pitot/static, prop blades, check for nests in the cowl flaps etc...

Subsequent flights the preflight inspection is usually limited to oil, gas, 360 walkaround, maybe wiggle the tail feathers/ailerons on my way around.
 
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