Which single line checklist items, when missed, could lead to a crash?

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MountainDude

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MountainDude
I can start with:
- forget to remove control lock
- leave the trim set for landing before take-off
- not pushing mixture rich before takeoff at sea level if you taxi with very lean mixture
- in a Cessna, not putting the fuel selector to "both"
 
My old man was a career fighter pilot, and he cautioned me about falling too far down the "checklist mentality" rabbit hole. Not that he (or I) thought checklists were bad - they're great and essential when used properly. But if you don't pay attention to what's really important (in addition to using the checklist), you'll be at risk of bringing the "always cause a crash" items to the same level as making sure your transponder's on.

So: I'd change your list title to "Which single line checklist items, when missed, WILL lead to a crash?" I can think of one: GEAR HANDLE DOWN. That will result in a crash every single time (in retracts, of course).

The control lock may be right there too, but that'd be missing an item about 4 times in preflight and runup. Your other items are in the "could" category.
 
None, in my airplane. Forgetting to activate the carb heat before pulling power may result in carb icing, but I generally don't pull the power until the runway is made.

Ron Wanttaja
 
Gear down
Seat secure

preflight- check cowl latched
 
In any airplane, not ensuring the fuel selector is in the on position (whatever version of on is available for that plane).
I recall a Cessna 150 checklist that had you ckeck it three times before takeoff (pre-flight, engine start and run-up).
 
MountainDude said:
I can start with:
- forget to remove control lock
- leave the trim set for landing before take-off
- not pushing mixture rich before takeoff at sea level if you taxi with very lean mixture
- in a Cessna, not putting the fuel selector to "both"
Click to expand...

"could" - that leaves the door open for just about everything on the checklist.

now, if you ask what would lead to a crash, I'd just go with forget to remove the control lock.
 
I generally operate with the mentality that everything on the pre-flight checklist is there because it's killed someone in the past. I think there are very few items on there that haven't.
 
Bob Noel said:
"could" - that leaves the door open for just about everything on the checklist.

now, if you ask what would lead to a crash, I'd just go with forget to remove the control lock.
Click to expand...
I feel pretty confident failure to follow the checklist and not turn the master switch on or move the mixture from lean cut off to rich during engine start will not cause a crash.
 
Last edited:
Skyrys62 said:
Seat rail locks on specific models.
Click to expand...
:yeahthat:


Especially if you’re vertically challenged like me. If the seat slides all the way back I cannot reach the controls and can’t even grasp the panel to pull myself forward. During takeoff I’d be dead.

I need to find some sort of clamp or lock to install behind the seat. I don’t like trusting one small, moveable pin resting in a hole.
 
Making sure carb heat is off (on a high DA day). My club lost one of our two planes to this.
 
Half Fast said:
:yeahthat:


I need to find some sort of clamp or lock to install behind the seat. I don’t like trusting one small, moveable pin resting in a hole.
Click to expand...


A bit pricey, and there are cheaper ones, but this is probably easiest to operate. I have the 'seat belt' style which works well IMO.
www.aircraftspruce.com

Cam Style Seat Lock | Aircraft Spruce

Cam Style Seat Lock A unique cam style lock that locks in place when the handle is firmly pressed down and makes contact with the seat rails.
www.aircraftspruce.com www.aircraftspruce.com
 
Skyrys62 said:
A bit pricey, and there are cheaper ones, but this is probably easiest to operate. I have the 'seat belt' style which works well IMO.
www.aircraftspruce.com

Cam Style Seat Lock | Aircraft Spruce

Cam Style Seat Lock A unique cam style lock that locks in place when the handle is firmly pressed down and makes contact with the seat rails.
www.aircraftspruce.com www.aircraftspruce.com
Click to expand...

Yeah, that is pricey. What's the seat belt style?
 
I have missed ''START ENGINE'' on the checklist a few times, and it almost caused an accident once...


Half Fast said:
I need to find some sort of clamp or lock to install behind the seat. I don’t like trusting one small, moveable pin resting in a hole.
Click to expand...
And you should not trust it.

We used to use these in Alaska, but might be a little over kill for you.

www.chiefaircraft.com

Saf-T-Stop Seat Rail Stop, Pair

Saf-T-Stop Seat Rail Stop, Pair
www.chiefaircraft.com www.chiefaircraft.com
 
Half Fast said:
What's the seat belt style?
Click to expand...
Attaches to the floor and under the seat/frame.
It's connected via cable to the bar/lever that you pull to move the seat, so operates all together.
I believe it locks into place once you release the bar/lever, but some have suggested it's also an inertia reel as a backup.
I'm assuming it could work for something other than Cessna's but I don't know that or the actual mechanism details. It was already installed in the plane when I got it.
@Dan Thomas, @mondtster or some of the other more knowledgeable ones might know.

https://ww2.txtav.com/Parts/PartSearch/PartsDetail/505590-403
Really pricey, but nice.

1721156106888.png
 
MountainDude said:
I can start with:
- forget to remove control lock
- leave the trim set for landing before take-off
- not pushing mixture rich before takeoff at sea level if you taxi with very lean mixture
- in a Cessna, not putting the fuel selector to "both"
Click to expand...
Control lock, you'd also have to forget to box the controls sometime before takeoff.
Trim set for landing is unlikely to cause a crash - In many planes it's very close to the takeoff setting, in others you're never going to break ground with that trim setting.
If you taxi with a very lean mixture, the engine should die when you push the throttle in for takeoff. If it doesn't, you're not leaning enough.

Now, all those things should be on the checklist, but the flip side is...
Baked Potato said:
I generally operate with the mentality that everything on the pre-flight checklist is there because it's killed someone in the past. I think there are very few items on there that haven't.
Click to expand...
...there are far TOO MANY items on most checklists. Some of them have killed people. Others are there to appease lawyers. Others are because manufacturers of single-engine pistons make the checklist into the entire instructions for flying. For the record, there are more checklist items before takeoff on the Cessna 172 than there are on the Hawker 800.

My favorite example of this is the following, from the C172 preflight checklist:

Master Switch ............ ON
Fuel Gauges .......... CHECK
Master Switch ........... OFF

The master switch items should not be on the checklist. Fuel gauges should be. And if you check the fuel gauges and they say empty even though you saw fuel in the tanks, maybe you should realized that the gauges are electric and the master is off without having to add two extraneous checklist items to make up for lacking systems knowledge! Or, this could be on the before start checklist right after you turn the master on for good.

These extraneous items result in the checklists being printed in tiny print, which has likely killed people because it's too easy to skip over an important item on the checklist by accident.

I really wish GA checklists were done better.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
My favorite example of this is the following, from the C172 preflight checklist:

Master Switch ............ ON
Fuel Gauges .......... CHECK
Master Switch ........... OFF
Click to expand...
The 172 checklists I have feature lights, pitot heat, and flaps between those

Edit - I think I understand your point though. That the Master itself is not a "check", it is just a step listed that the pilot should know about
 
Baked Potato said:
The 172 checklists I have feature lights, pitot heat, and flaps between those

Edit - I think I understand your point though. That the Master itself is not a "check", it is just a step listed that the pilot should know about
Click to expand...
Better. I think the on-check-off comes from one where they had a "cockpit check" that was separate from checking the exterior electrical stuff like lights and flaps.

Still, you are correct that the Master stuff is not a check, it's an instruction... And IMO the use of checklists like this is part of what results in many GA pilots not using checklists at all.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
Trim set for landing is unlikely to cause a crash - In many planes it's very close to the takeoff setting, in others you're never going to break ground with that trim setting.
Click to expand...
On a C182, landing trim is full up, and takeoff trim can be almost full down if the CG is aft. If I had 4 adults in the plane with full nose up trim, I am not sure I would be able to overpower the yoke. When you go around in a C182 with the full nose up trim, if you apply full power suddenly, it takes all arm power to push the nose down and prevent a stall.
 
Mixture: lean for density altitude
 
chemgeek said:
Fuel pump "on" on a low wing. You will almost always get away with it, but if your engine pump falters for any reason...
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This is not universally true of low wings. My Mooney does not ever use the pump in normal flight. It's strictly for starting and emergency use.
MountainDude said:
On a C182, landing trim is full up, and takeoff trim can be almost full down if the CG is aft. If I had 4 adults in the plane with full nose up trim, I am not sure I would be able to overpower the yoke. When you go around in a C182 with the full nose up trim, if you apply full power suddenly, it takes all arm power to push the nose down and prevent a stall.
Click to expand...
I have about 500 hours of 182 time, and go-arounds in the 182 are an excellent argument for electric pitch trim on the yoke! But you should be able to overpower it, there is a certification standard for the maximum amount of force that can be put on the flight controls in that situation. I think it's 50 pounds. Not fun, but shouldn't kill you either.
 
So far everyone seems to be focusing on the startup or takeoff checklists, but there are more items on the preflight checklist that could prove fatal. Failing to sump the fuel is a biggie, as a slug of water could be fatal on takeoff, and misfueling has caused crashes.

Depending upon the plane, there may be other items equally dangerous. For example, I always check to see that cotter pins and safety wire are intact on my control surface linkages as part of inspecting those items.
 
Skyrys62 said:
Attaches to the floor and under the seat/frame.
It's connected via cable to the bar/lever that you pull to move the seat, so operates all together.
I believe it locks into place once you release the bar/lever, but some have suggested it's also an inertia reel as a backup.
I'm assuming it could work for something other than Cessna's but I don't know that or the actual mechanism details. It was already installed in the plane when I got it.
@Dan Thomas, @mondtster or some of the other more knowledgeable ones might know.
Click to expand...
There is no inertia function to it. There is a cable that runs from the reel assembly to the seat latch lever, with appropriate bracketry, and it is supposed to be carefully rigged so that the reel is released when the seat lock pin(s) are (from memory) between .050" and .100" above the top surface of the seat rail. At anything below .050", it MUST be locked, to ensure that it will hold the seat against rollback if the pin pops out of the rail. I regularly found them misrigged and useless. If they're set up right, they work fine.

For a long time after Cessna introduced them, they were free for the pilot's seat. They were covering their butts.
 
Forgetting the pitot tube cover, seen a fatal because of it.
 
Feh said:
generalaviationnews.com

SR20 pilot forgets to remove pitot tube cover — General Aviation News

generalaviationnews.com generalaviationnews.com
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That is just bad piloting.

I've made two take offs with blocked pitot. One was the old Cessna hinged style that didn't open on t/o roll. That was with a student, and I turned it into an impromptu lesson. They completed the flight without issue, and we didn't die.

The other was my fault as I had lost my pitot cover and used a very small piece of tape to cover so bugs didn't crawl in, and didn't see it on preflight. Continued takeoff roll and again, didn't die.

Any pilot that has passed a check ride should be able to make a full flight with no ASI and be able to fly by feel and sight.
 
The bigger question for me is, if “missing” an item on a checklist is a concern, why are you missing those items?
 
EdFred said:
That is just bad piloting.

I've made two take offs with blocked pitot. One was the old Cessna hinged style that didn't open on t/o roll. That was with a student, and I turned it into an impromptu lesson. They completed the flight without issue, and we didn't die.

The other was my fault as I had lost my pitot cover and used a very small piece of tape to cover so bugs didn't crawl in, and didn't see it on preflight. Continued takeoff roll and again, didn't die.

Any pilot that has passed a check ride should be able to make a full flight with no ASI and be able to fly by feel and sight.
Click to expand...

It could kill you, and become a factor absolutely. Like losing an engine mid flight or on takeoff.
 
Feh said:
generalaviationnews.com

SR20 pilot forgets to remove pitot tube cover — General Aviation News

generalaviationnews.com generalaviationnews.com
Click to expand...
Wow. Rest in peace, but what terrible accident. A 5000' runway should be plenty to abort your takeoff after you don't see the airspeed moving. I would think any PPL should be able to land safely if you have an inflight pitot issue, but to take off without once looking at airspeed is irresponsible.

For my particularly plane whose fuel gauges are a measure of there is probably fuel in there, not verifying fuel quantity for your flight. So many reports of GA planes running out of gas.
 
Every missed checklist item could be treated as a “seriously? That wouldn’t happen to me, imagine forgetting a gust lock. Wow, that’s such bad piloting”. Sounds like pure arrogance.
 
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