Mindfulness. Thorough pre-flight inspections require a mindful and thoughtful approach. Apply “sterile cockpit” rules and practices to the preflight environment where there are many potential distractions. (“sterile cockpit” will be a future musings topic!)
Here’s one of the worst (and often reported) scenarios: Just as you take the cap off the fuel tank to check the level, your cell phone rings and you answer it, instantly distracting you from the job at hand. You might remember to put the fuel cap back on, but you might not. Try to make your pre-flight a time of real focus–no cell phones, no chatting with passengers and no distractions. It’s hard, but it’s really important.
Create an attitude of curiosity. In other words, don’t just go through the motions. Many pilots do a pre-flight, but don’t really look at anything. There’s a not-so-funny joke about a pilot turning on the master switch to check the fuel gauges, but not bothering to notice that the fuel gauges indicated empty. S/he was looking, but not seeing. The way to combat this complacency is to have a positive attitude that views the pre-flight as a chance to discover something or learn a new fact about your airplane. Focus on each individual component to consider how it works and what it should look like; don’t just look at parts of an airplane!
Consider the following:
- Use a checklist.
- Always use a flashlight. Helps your eyes to focus on lit area and to see smaller and
darker areas. Even outside in the sunshine to check details.
- Use your senses – touch and wiggle, pull, kick, twist – listen, smell, feel – (be gentle
with static discharge wicks!)
To be continued….