Anyone ever miss an item on a checklist?

[mtrv]

I've added:

Look right and left, to make sure the fuel caps are secure on a low wing.

At least I know from personal experience, what 100LL looks like, spewing across the top of the wing. Was the smell that got my attention.

 

[FN FAL]

Even when "Jesus" is your co-pilot, you can miss an item.

I was on a field service trip in my C-320 Skynight with a fellow field service technician whose nick name was "Jesus". He's a biker dude, with the long hair and the beard...looks exactly like the guy you see on the pictures in church.

We were having to wait on the ground for a while with the engines turning for about 20 minutes at PNE because of ATC delays, so we left the door open for ventilation.

Jim had done such a good job of closing the door on this trip, that when we got the clearance to position and hold, I just watched him pull the door and move the latch. This time, I didn't do my normal reach around to push on the door to check it. Dohhhh!!! Never ass-u-me!

We get cleared to go and out of the corner of my eye, I see "Jesus" reefing on the door latch. I called an abort to tower and told my co-pilot to quit trying so hard, we're going back and doing it over. No sense in putting up with an open door all the way back to GRB.

After querrying me about the abort, PNE tower let us reposition and off we went. Just as well, the king air we let go ahead of us, wound up holding for a half hour anyway ( I knew the king air crew and saw them a week later up by Mishawaka IN ).

Be careful with having a door pop open on your take off roll and don't let it distract you. If you can abort, do so...if not, fly the plane. Don't get distracted into flying the plane into the ground or into a stall.

Some planes, like a 172 or 182, are easier to shut once you get settled in and established. Others are hard to latch and you are being hard on the door latch mechanism and door when you reef on them to get them to latch. Maybe it's not a factor to you if it's not your plane or it doesn't belong to a friend of yours.

Unanswered...what works best, is if you can get these checklist items memorized and develop a flow...then do the flow and check your actions with the checking list.

 

[Butters]

Never forgot a checklist item. Also never been off more than a foot from my assigned altitude!

Yeah... I figure everyone misses one at some point. Hopefully errors like that happen early in your career and are non-consequential so you learn.

Don't beat yourself up over it. Errors happen. Just learn from it and try harder not to repeat it.

Good luck!

 

[dseagrav]

Hah. You guys are amateurs!

I'm surprised when I make it through a checklist without forgetting something. I have yet to make it through one without losing my place somewhere and stalling while I try to remember where I was. Checklists are for losers anyway, as long as the airplane flies, all is well. Right?

(Where'd that F-15 come from? Think he'll stay there long enough for me to take some pictures?)

 

[Occam's Razor]

Had a nugget 1stLt starting an F-4 in Yuma once...forgot to check the gear handle in the DOWN position. As the first engine spun up, the hydralulic pressure retracted the nose gear (mains won't retract due to a squat switch). The front of the aircraft gently lowered to the ramp as he quickly shut off the engine.

The Plane Captain walked up to the now chest-level pilot, leaned in and told him, "Here...let me help you find that Before Start checklist, Lieutenant!"

(The ordnance men had raised the gear handle to satisfy interlocks so that they could check for stray voltage after loading a couple of Zuni rocket packs. A short cut that had the rest of us double-checking that pesky gear handle every time we hopped in!)

 

[DAS at 10/250]

Forgetting to unlock the props on a B100 won't get you very far down the runway.

Learn to use a "sweep" or "flow" after the checklist and before takeoff to make sure you got the big stuff. Flaps, props, trim, mixture, flight controls, etc.

 

[FN FAL]

Forgetting to unlock the props on a B100 won't get you very far down the runway.

Learn to use a "sweep" or "flow" after the checklist and before takeoff to make sure you got the big stuff. Flaps, props, trim, mixture, flight controls, etc.

One of the comments I get from my sim instructors is that I always do a good job of keeping my head on a swivel. Yea, it's just a pos single that fly, but I gotta fend for myself...it's single pilot as well.

Since my flying is so routine, I have built some really brainless stuff into my flow to make sure things get done. On shut down, I always make sure the power lever isn't in Beta before feather, by raising it a bit and then bringing it back against the stop. If it's built in, you never forget. Which can happen if you have job where you can do it in your sleep.

 

[Rogue5]

Checklist item? Sure.

You ain't seen nothing 'til you've missed a whole checklist:

(On the landing roll...)

DING!

[REVERSE UNSAFE]

"Huh, reversers aren't armed..."

"Hmm..."

"Did we do a descent check?"

"Mmmm... No."

"Ever do that before?"

"Mmmm... No."

 

[Swamp Fox]

At least LOOK at the airplane as you walk up to it!

About 25 years ago, there was an owner pilot who was in Tucson for delivery of his brand new Lear 35A. At that time, Learjet was still doing some flight training in the plane. This pilot successfully completed the multi-day course, then decided to remain one more night in Tucson and depart early the next morning. Come dawn, this guy (and presumably his copilot - though I used to know a guy who flew his own Lear SP sometimes) somehow managed to strap in and start one engine, WITHOUT REMOVING THE ENGINE COVERS FIRST!!! AAAAHHHH!!!

Needless to say, there was some delay in getting the shiny new bird back to home base!

 

[User546]

I'm a stickler for checklists, but I always forget to turn off the Air Condition before landing in the Piper Dakota. It's part of the Before Landing checklist, but I like to have mine done about 5 miles out, so I always leave the A/C on with good intentions of turning it off before landing. Probably 1 out of 5 times I actually remember.

 

[gern_blanston]

98% of all pilots have forgotten a checklist item, and the other 2% are liars. Or was that something else?

 

[Kream926]

I'm a stickler for checklists, but I always forget to turn off the Air Condition before landing in the Piper Dakota. It's part of the Before Landing checklist, but I like to have mine done about 5 miles out, so I always leave the A/C on with good intentions of turning it off before landing. Probably 1 out of 5 times I actually remember.

aww how cute, you have air conditioning

 

[navigator72]

I forgot to untie the tail once, (I like to call it my "Full power Taxi").

 

[wmuflyguy]

Had a student on a checkride for ppl, forget to retract the flaps and then decided to show the examiner a takeoff with them still down. Needless to say the examiner wasn't impressed.

 

[Snakum]

I got overloaded once (actually a BUNCH of times) when first flying the B200 and I missed "Yaw Damper ... OFF". I was dead on centerline, with no x-wind and everything loverly, so the boss let me land like that and try to turn off onto the taxiway. Laughing, he said he was comfortable letting me land with it on, and that'd be an excellent lesson and I'd never forget that one again ... and he was right. You couldn't have put a ten penny nail up my azz with an airhammer when I started stomping the left rudder and it wouldn't budge.


Minh

 

[9GClub]

Took the runway and throttled up with my window open..... no biggie, but it's amazing how stuff like that can get overlooked.

After having to retract flaps a few times before starting the roll, I've started making it a point to re-check T/O config as my last item before taking the runway. In the 150 it's pretty basic with trim, flaps, carb heat, etc. but it's stuff like that that gets pretty freaky when you're about to rotate.

Another thing my instructor has called me on is not satisfactorily DOING the stuff on the checklist-- for example, it's easy to call "clear prop" without actually pausing for a few seconds to visually clear the prop.

Most of you guys probably do a brake check when you start to roll, but that's a good habit to develop as well. I was careless a few times there in the beginning and once didn't notice the top of my left pedal going all the way to the stop-- with limited braking action-- until I was almost to the runway.

Finally, a couple guys have mentioned taking a step back and actually looking at the airplane-- getting the "big picture"-- from the prop, tail, and wingtips at some point during your preflight. Sighting forward from the tail can obviously help you spot hanging gas caps, etc.

My favorite pre-flight goofup story is a legend at my home field.... apparently the plane wasn't feeling quite right to a guy on climbout. When he landed, he found his bad-ass owl decoy still affixed to the fin......

 

[Jmmccutc]

i've managed to do this twice, i guess i'm a slow learner...but i got out do the preflight instructor came out, gets in start both engines and go to call our hobbs up time to the dispatcher and "sh1t" if i didn't leave my headsets in my flightbag in the cargo area...but hey what can you say i'm a dumbass and it's sort of expected from me!

 

[UnAnswerd]

Most of you guys probably do a brake check when you start to roll, but that's a good habit to develop as well. I was careless a few times there in the beginning and once didn't notice the top of my left pedal going all the way to the stop-- with limited braking action-- until I was almost to the runway.

This isn't a checklist item, but one time I throttled up to 2,000RPM for the runup and started going through the checklist. I'll admit that my head was buried in the cockpit and I wasn't looking around much. Suddenly my instructor yells "hold your brakes"!!! and then grabs the parking brake. Now I was on the brakes, just not hard enough I guess....

 

[User546]

aww how cute, you have air conditioning

Hey now! You and I fly out of the same area, don't be jealous I got a air condition in these ungodly humid weather!

 

[Kream926]

not for long. im going back to where it cools down at night, to like 15 in the winter. the way i look at it, when its cold, you can put on more layers, or stay inside, when its too hot, you can walk around butt nekud all day and still be hot as sh!t