Never again

My old college roommate, Mike, was in town, and we agreed we would fly to Chicago’s Merrill C. Meigs Field airport just for fun. I had flown my airplane the previous evening and decided to do an “abbreviated” preflight before we jumped in to depart from my home airport, DeKalb Taylor Municipal Airport (DKB). That’s just like an abbreviated weather briefing, I thought. I made sure to cover the important items: check the fuel quantity, sump the fuel tanks, check the oil, and make sure the controls are free and that nothing hit the airplane while it was tied down overnight.

Good to go.

After helping Mike get buckled into the right seat, I fired up the engine and taxied to the fuel pump to top off before our little adventure. Little did I know our adventure would start immediately. Upon reaching the fuel pump, I applied brakes to slow down, but only the left brake worked—the right brake pedal went to the floor. The working brake enabled my Cessna to make a hard left turn—directly toward the fuel pump.

Panicked, I turned off the ignition, jumped out of the airplane, and pulled on the left wing strut with the desperate hope I could stop the airplane before it hit the pump. I was not strong enough to slow the momentum of a 1,600-pound airplane and, seemingly in slow motion, it advanced toward the pump until the left wing hit a metal light pole—which stopped the airplane a few feet from the pump. I may have avoided an explosion that day, but I was embarrassed, and my airplane was damaged.

Every flight since, I remember that seemingly innocent chain of events and force myself to slow down and be thorough during both the preflight and before-flight checklists.It turns out an O-ring in the right brake caliper had failed overnight, and I did not notice the red brake fluid on the blacktop during my abbreviated preflight. I also failed to do a brake check immediately after taxiing away from my tiedown spot before the incident. Either action would have prevented the costly mistake.

Every flight since, I remember that seemingly innocent chain of events and force myself to slow down and be thorough during both the preflight and before-flight checklists. A little voice in my head says, Don’t repeat the fuel pump episode!

Things can—and will—happen to an airplane overnight, especially when it’s tied down outside. Seals leak, electrical connections break, batteries die, instruments fail, animals build nests, and much more.

Follow the checklist and expect the worst as you preflight. If you don’t like the checklist that is in the airplane you fly, you can make your own on your computer and print it out, or you can create your own in numerous electronic flight bags. Some avionics manufacturers offer checklist editor software you can customize for your aircraft make and model and upload to numerous multifunction displays and portable GPS units. Just make sure your checklist includes the items recommended in your airplane’s pilot’s operating handbook.

AOPA has been publishing monthly member-submitted “Never Again” articles since January 1974. Ironically, the very first one was titled, “The Incomplete Preflight: How to Have an Emergency on Takeoff Without Really Trying.”

Today, we continue to encourage members to submit “Never Again” articles for consideration to [email protected]. We look for well-written stories that detail a flight, a portion of a flight, or some other aircraft incident from which a lesson was learned. The significance of the lesson and its applicability to your fellow pilots are important. Use of the first person is appropriate, and ideal length is 1,000 words. The process of evaluating your article can take several weeks. If we find your submission is a good fit, we’ll reach out with further guidance. Thank you to those who have offered to make their lessons public for the betterment of the aviation community.

Through 578 “Never Again” articles, we have helped protect each other’s freedom to fly.

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