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Guarding Against Complacency

In my experience when I screwed up complacency was manifested in doing things in the cockpit too fast. Fast hands in the cockpit has bent a lot of metal over the years and forcing yourself to not rush is IMO a good way to avoid being complacent.

With respect to checklist I am with PIlot DAR. Flow checks are the right way to do most things in a single pilot environment. When I fly my Nanchang CJ6 I never use a written checklist for normal ops. Instead I have a left to right flow that covers every necessary check. In this case I am use the physical knobs, buttons, switches, and levers as my "list" of things to check. A consistent order ensures that I don't miss anything.

One huge problem IMO is the near universal tendency of flying schools to use the checklist as a learn to fly tool instead of its true purpose which is only safety of flight. So every thing on the checklist should be something that will significantly and immediately effect the safety of the flight if the item is missed. Using this philosophy I recently rewrote the checklist at a school I do some teaching at. The new checklist was 1/3 the length of the old one and followed a consistent and logical flow for all checks instead of jumping all over the cockpit.

Wine, Women, and Airplanes = Happy
Canada

I will never argue against the reference to a checklist (providing it is not interfering with flying), but I certainly use a "flow" check method myself. For most single engine types I fly, the flow will be the same, with the possible differences being cowl flaps and propeller setting.

I don't remind myself checklist style, about the position of the wheels on fixed gear planes. I do, however, say out loud to myself (and my 9 year old daughter, who tends to repeat it now) "wheels are down for landing on land", or "wheels are up for landing on water" as appropriate. I have set upon this as my flow check for any retractable I fly, as it covers every type of retractable I fly. The basic "wheels down for landing" is really bad for amphibian landings on water - so I don't do it!

Happily, most certified aircraft are designed and approved so that forgetting most checklist items is not immediately critical (aside from the obvious landing gear selection). Any critical thing is going to make itself known fairly shortly, if it matters. Not to say that's okay, or acceptable, but should not cause an accident. Examples of this would include not selecting fine for the prop before initiating an overshoot - it's not good for the engine, but you'll probably notice before it stops in anger.

Flaps selection/mis-selection is always a hot checklist topic, and yes, the odd time I get airborne with a flap setting other than I intended. Happily, in all but the most critical short runways, this is manageable. The lowly C 150 will touch and go, or overshoot, and climb away, with full flaps out. It is not stellar, and you'll remember it for a while, but can be safely done.

Worse than entering the next phase of flight with something wrong in the configuration, can be failing to maintain control of the aircraft while you suddenly realize it, and change things. Your attention is drawn away from flying by (a) something surprising you as being wrong, and (b) fixing it. If possible, leave it as is, until you are safely established in the next phase (climbing away steadily hopefully). I was right seat to a pilot who completely forgot to fly a Piper Arrow right after breaking ground, because the tower called to say that the Nav lights were not on for a dusk flight. Not good, but not worth crashing over! Wait until things are stable before diverting attention.

When I fly twins, or very advance singles, I use the paper checklist. I would rather do that, than explain why I had not after something went wrong. But that's my personal comfort level.

Yesterday I went flew up to maintenance test fly a very rebuilt C-206. It was barely VFR flying my very well known route, but I got in okay. Once on the ground, I explained to the client that despite real operational pressure, I would not be flying the 206. Weather that poor was not the place to be with an aircraft on a test flight, particularly as I was expected to stall it - not with a 1000 foot ceiling! I told the client that while still on the ground, I could see two Swiss cheese holes lining up, and I had not even got into the plane yet. My client agreed. I like to think that I maintained safety, and set a good example for my client's pilots. I test flew it this morning, and everything was fine....

Home runway, in central Ontario, Canada, Canada

When I first learnt to fly, like everyone else I presume, I had "use the checklist" drilled into me, and that is exactly what I did.

However I found the school ones badly designed (and they differed from the POH) and (at least partially) as a result of the poor design and probably largely my own lack of care, I often found that I missed items on it.

I designed my own checklist (from the POH) by changing layout, grouping items, numbering them and adding shading etc. This help enormously in terms of not missing items, but I still occasionally missed items from it.

I also didn't really think about what I was doing. Starting the aircraft was a 'complicated proceedure' which I did simply by following the checklist. Actually part of the problem here was that I was trying to be sure not to lose my position on the checklist that I was concentrating too much on the checklist and too little on the purpose of my actions and checks.

One day, with a new instructor, he suggested that I do flow checks and not bother with the checklist. It was a revelation.

Now starting the aircraft became a serious of logical steps, and everything had to be checked, moved and set as appropriate.

Now a days I don't use a checklist of start up etc. However after completing the engine checks and predeparture checks, I do pull out the checklist to make sure I didn't miss anything. Misses are rare ever since I started doing flow checks instead of checklists.

However if I haven't flown for a while (or indeed on the rare occasions that I flew a different aircraft) I do make a point of using the checklist. This helps remove the complacency after a few weeks break. If I haven't flown for awhile I also like to take another pilot with me who is reminded before the flight that I haven't flown in a few weeks and to comment if I miss anything.

dp

EIWT Weston, Ireland

At 1730 hours solo, in July, I did something so stupid/insane that only my superior luck avoided an accident on take-off. This has really got rid of any complacency, hopefully for another 1700+ hours

Probably not as stupid as mine - after touching down on my very first solo, I heard over the radio my instructor announce "gas rein und raus" - throttle up and take off - so what did I do? I pushed the throttle full forward and because flaps were full and the plane was still rolling around 48knots, it nearly instantaneously leapt into the air. So what was my next reaction? You guessed it, the worst thing I could have done - retracted the flaps to flaps 10 - how I managed to float down the runway around 5 foot off the ground without falling back to earth is beyond me, eventually the plane gained airspeed and off I went.

Since then, when doing touch and go, I remember that incident and remember: first of all flaps to 10, then accelerate.

But please, Maoraigh, share your story. There's no judge, jury and executioner here, pilots should share experiences to ensure no-one else makes the same mistake.....

EDL*, Germany

Forgot to go to the toilet before getting in the cockpit? :o)

I could never understand that.

The advantage of having a relief tube....

EGTK Oxford

Forgot to go to the toilet before getting in the cockpit? :o)

I could never understand that.

Allegedly, there are people out there who limit their flights according to their bladder

There are technological solutions

I do agree with the comments on the blind single-pilot use of checklists. After a while, one starts to skip stuff on them. But they still have their uses for specific tasks e.g. configuring the avionics for an instrument approach.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

At 1730 hours solo, in July, I did something so stupid/insane that only my superior luck avoided an accident on take-off.

Forgot to go to the toilet before getting in the cockpit? :o)

This has really got rid of any complacency, hopefully for another 1700+ hours

I'll say...stay safe out there :o)

At 1730 hours solo, in July, I did something so stupid/insane that only my superior luck avoided an accident on take-off. This has really got rid of any complacency, hopefully for another 1700+ hours

Maoraigh
EGPE, United Kingdom

I actually consider that chanting 'undercarriage down and welded' in your C150 checks is laying a trap for yourself in the future, when you fly an aeroplane where it isn't 'down', still less welded!

I disagree. I always check gear down as part of pre-landing checks and on final whether in a C152 or a PA-46. Like I said earlier, same way every time.

EGTK Oxford

VinceC is absolutely right im my view. Use a checklist by al means but please not just for the sake of ticking it off. Actually check what is there and understand what is there otherwise a pointless exercise.

UK, United Kingdom
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