Your biggest ever mistake

I write down all frequencies before selecting them.

I save & keep the frequency sequences for my long regular routes – very handy. In this part of the World, for identical routing the sector/enroute frequencies are generally the same on every flight; departure/approach varies a bit more.

Making a too long landing with a Piper lance on a grass strip and just getting a bit off the end into some gravel stone which the prop hits. Not my plane. Embarrasing.
A mechanic says it can fly back to base for further inspections. The plane gets checked and fixed. A few days later another pilot flies the plane in VMC and the prop disappears the engine overspeeds and leaks oil onto the wind screen. The pilot glides the plane to a safe emergency landing. It then turns out the shop used the old screws for the prop instead of replacing them as recommended.

Nice topic..

Biggest mistake, was a series of mistakes. Had probably about 130h on the clock. Wasn’t flying GPS, and didn’t really use any of the avionics other than transponder and comm.

2nd or 3rd trip to Paris. on way back from Joigny LFGK:
- departure under pressure due to convective weather arriving
- had picked up a bad alternate (too close to initial destination)

Flying VFR, the way you’d do in a qualifying cross country in the UK, basically dead reckoning.
Suddenly, 2 problems arose pretty much at same time:
- big CB over what I perceived to be my destination
- no one on frequency for the FIS (It was easter)

Started looking for an alternate (using good old fashioed maps), and wondering what had AVGAS etc, I missed one of my reference points (and due to workload (looking for frequency on map, didn’t think of 121.5)), didn’t descend (class A dropped from 3500 to 1500). Or better, I saw what I perceived to be my refernece point much further ahead. Sadly, the one I was looking for was a disused aerodrome quite south of Paris, and the other one (in the same alignment) was Villacoublay (probably the closest airport to Paris), a decent amount of miles futher.
Noticing airliners fairly close above, went and checked everything and realised mistake, descended promptly (still wasn’t talking to anyone I think), and then talked to Toussus, for airfield info etc).
After landing, they told me that I had travelled through Orly’s TMA (or CTR). Went to the tower and asked to talk to Orly, apologised (apparently they had to reroute some arrivals), explained, and never heard anything of it.
Lots of lessons learnt, big one was to fly with GPS, especially in congested / unfamiliar areas, and be a bit more proactive in asking for help.

Other slight mistakes:
- taking off with PA28 door unlocked
- after quick local flight, getting into wrong direction circuit (RWY had changed). them being 02 / 20 (reciprocal numbers) doesn’t help at all when you are already highly subject to confirmation bias

Some memorable ones I remember and helped not develop further:
- Telling someone on a departure for IFR flight they had lined up the wrong end of the runway
- Running after a plane when seeing him ready to taxi with pitot cover on.

Noe wrote:

Running after a plane when seeing him ready to taxi with pitot cover on.

I did that one as well, almost throwing myself in his path in the process, only to be told that we was just taxiing to the fuel pump and had no intention to go flying… Learnt from that to take all covers off the airplane even for ground operations to save caring people from getting a heart attack

what_next wrote:

only to be told that we was just taxiing to the fuel pump and had no intention to go flying

I’d tend to think it’s a bad practice anyway. Better to ingrain certain things, and having them completely automated. Human brain is already bad enough at forgetting things! That’s why I turn the pitot heat on even for VFR circuits.
There’s also a (very) small chance he then decides to go for a circuit or something and forgets about it.

That, and what you said too which could actually could cause someone else some trouble.

My best of:

1) icing on imc SID from LOWS starting at 5500ft throughout Fl110 (minimum OCA for the SID) forcast was not accurate with time. The warm front was faster than we were…da40ng with 100% load and unable to climb higher (fl090) we got vectors to a better area for lower MEA but tool us 20min until we were able to reach VMC below the layer but still minus OAT. NOT FUN COMPLETELY USELESS

2) wrong qnh on KAP and wondering why autopilot cannot hold altitudes

3) wrong taxi way on LOWW facing a b737 nose en nose. Not fun either

4) flying with a 4 years old first ga flight birthday present super day … Delayed to 1400LT in June. Super convective weather and nice pizza delivery in the cockpit …

5) too fast on final approach causing a runway usage like a jumbo

Walter wrote:

da40ng with 100% load and unable to climb higher (fl090)

Because of icing? Otherwise how much over gross were you?

You mean the time I hadn’t latched the door correctly, tried to close it on the upwind and it flew up and almost went into the left prop and tail? And how I almost stalled the plane twice on the way back to rwy with my pregnant wife? And how I forgot to put out any flaps out until I was in the flare?

It was a good day for a drink.

Noe wrote:

Because

80kg below. Without ice

We picked up around 2-3cm ice on the wings. Clearly the most impact had the ice on the prop which caused the horrible performance loss