CRJ 200 Experts, Please share your preflight tips

[FishandFly]

bump for ATL havoc days.

 

[SBD]

Two wings, two engines, nav lights working, and nothing leaking. Captain, plane's fine.

 

[FishandFly]

any damage to the main pax door seal area, usually caused by closing door without red strap attached

ground straps:
main pax door - under top step on right side
all access panels
all gear door panels
under spoilers and spoilerons
ailerons and flaps

any holes in radome clear adhesive cover

hairline cracks in main pax door hinge

aileron and flap seals

caulking required around outside of nav light housing

chain that holds gas cap on

any dings or significant scratches on leading edge

any dings or scratches on fan blades

Placards that are commonly missing or damaged:
oxy door
nose gear door
adg door

Any cut in tires. Don't be a mechanic and dig into the cut to try and find chord, that is not your job. Have a mechanic sign off on it even if you're at an outstation.

Oil splatter on FDR, viewable from vents at very rear behind aft equip bay door.

Cockpit:
2 replacement fuses behind FO are always broken/missing.

visible moisture coming from air vents means the "socks" that filter the air are old and moldy. If captain says anything otherwise tell him you refuse to breath moldy air all day and you're writing it up whether he likes it or not. This is not a joke, ask the mechanics to show you the sock and you'll know what I mean

all cockpit lights must work

yoke writing pad angle adjustment is always busted.

don't fly with 7 year old seats that are so uncomfortable you need a chiropractor after a day of flying

any and all unusual status and caution messages on the taxi out. You should NOT feel comfortable with your captain pulling out his dandy magic circuit breaker list. It is not his job nor yours to pull circuit breakers unless directed to do so by mx or emergency.

NOSE WHEEL SHIMMY ON TAKEOFF!
I had one shimmy once, wrote it up and found that it had not been installed correctly.

It is also extremely important to understand that a discrepancy is a discrepancy whether you find it at C23 or at an outstation. Do not wait until "we get back to atl" to have something checked out. That is why we have outsourced mx at outstations.

Besides safety, another good reason to follow this rule is that it has happened numerous times where the FO will do the walkaround, only to have a fed preflight after the FO and find things wrong.

It is not worth the risk, and our company has acknowledged and reinforced that strongly by the latest bulletins stating that ALL discrepancies MUST be written up.

 

[FishandFly]

Only 2 rivets missing from a wing.

 

[Beergut]

The CVR must be bright orange with 2 strips of reflective tape. You can see it through the vents on the right rear.(Use a flashlight)

 

[Freebrd]

CRJ200 main door pins that FA verifies are painted over on many planes and are white, but should be green. Think it grounds the plane.

 

[Papps]

I'm brand new here and want advice on the preflight.


For instance,

Pax door ground strap (under top step) either chaffed or cut.




**This is in no way connected to the fact that negotiations are not moving along, nor the fact that our crew bags are now needlessly denied entry into a warm, dry, and safe place.

the proper technique is to walk around the A/C in a clockwise fashion while watching other airplanes as they fly over, then enter the jet bridge and get back in the plane.

 

[J and E's Daddy]

When I preflight the CRJ. I will wear rubber gloves. I will not touch the exterior of the airplane without protective gloves on my hands. There's alot of dirt oil etc etc. Get a pair of latex gloves.

 

[knightflyer]

The communications service panal on the nose:

The test light for the:
1) Parking brake(Red)
2) The AC power(amber)---not sure

I do not think these are in the MEL

But this is just what someone told me. I have not looked any of this up in the MEL.

 

[BoilerUP]

The communications service panal on the nose:

The test light for the:
1) Parking brake(Red)
2) The AC power(amber)---not sure

I do not think these are in the MEL

But this is just what someone told me. I have not looked any of this up in the MEL.

They're not...but they use the same bulbs as the switchlights in the cockpit and you probably have some spares onboard.

 

[acaTerry]

I just ask if all the big pieces are still there...

You guys are really making me feel safe here....

 

[rtmcfi]

Sorry for the cross-post!

You all should really be looking at the fabric seal between the inside of the cargo compartment and the cargo compartment door. Any rips or tears, and it is a no go item. This fabric is often ripped up by careless rampers loading bags. Not MEL-able last I heard. While your looking at the seal, check the protective lower door sill cover. If it is dented, the door may not seal correctly, leading to pressure problems.

 

[FmrFreightDog]

Today, we had Mx in ATL... swapped to another aircraft that had serious MX.. swapped to another aircraft that had minor MX... left for the outstation 4 hours late. Man, the RJs are just falling apart!! Thanks, crews, for all you do to ensure the safety of the fleet.

 

[JonnyKnoxville]

I'm brand new here and want advice on the preflight.


For instance,

Pax door ground strap (under top step) either chaffed or cut.




**This is in no way connected to the fact that negotiations are not moving along, nor the fact that our crew bags are now needlessly denied entry into a warm, dry, and safe place.

Make sure the cockpit seatbelts do not have any fraying at all. They were designed without frays and any fraying will reduce their designed strength and effectiveness. Good luck and FLY SAFE!

 

[flygirl135]

Thanks for the great stuff so far everyone! Lets up the safety level even more!

Two more good ones are the Placards for the oxygen door and ADG door.

... and the DC service door! Sometimes, they're even out of stickers... or so I was told!

 

[DX Rick]

Just check to make sure they're not any dead/frozen boarder hoppers in the gear bay, and we're good to go.

 

[wood pecker]

And the flashlights, don't want find out the batteries are dead when you need them. Mtc can help you out. Be sure to check the stby a/s indicator on T/O, they sometimes get water in them and need to be serviced. Since your new you will be told how delicate the knobs are and if you jiggle them too much they could break as this plane was not made for regional flying but corporate flying. Good luck, you do a very diligent pre-flight so my family will be safe. Safety first, on-time, well hell nobody else obviously cares.

 

[frapper]

Make sure the cockpit seatbelts do not have any fraying at all. They were designed without frays and any fraying will reduce their designed strength and effectiveness. Good luck and FLY SAFE!

Make sure you're at an out-station when you do this one. They now have a document that explains the tolerance of the belts. Needs to be more than 10% of the width frayed. Easy inspection for mx in ATL, but could take a while for contract mx to inspect it at an out-station...

 

[Crowing Rooster]

Mike 1:

Thank you for your concern for aviation safety.

My own pre-flights will be improved due to this post.

One more item that is often ignored or overlooked is the compass correction card. It is important that those are there.