Don’t take it lightly

I once had an instructor who ensured that none of his students performed a perfunctory preflight. He did this by cleverly sabotaging the airplane before each student arrived for his or her lesson. One of his favorite tricks, for example, was to place a piece of Scotch tape over a static port. Others included disconnecting a spark plug lead, plugging a fuel vent with a small and easily removable piece of paper, and so forth. Whether or not the student discovered the flaw, a few minutes of the preflight briefing were devoted to discussing the potential consequences of each such problem. He taught us well but, in my case, perhaps not well enough.

Some years later, my friend Hal Fishman and I were about to assault two world speed records for light airplanes held by the Soviet Union. I had just flown the 500-kilometer, closed-circuit course, and it was Fishman’s turn to fly the 1,000-kilometer course. We climbed aboard the turbocharged Aerostar 601 prior to the second flight and were preparing to start the engines when Ted R. Smith, the Aerostar’s designer, walked toward the airplane to take a photograph. Smith framed the twin and was preparing to take the picture when he asked us to center the rudder for the photograph. Fishman neutralized the pedals and motioned for Smith to proceed. Smith shook his head and walked over to the open cabin door. “Perhaps you didn’t understand,” he said. “Neutralize the rudder.”

“But, Ted,” Fishman replied, “the rudder is centered. Look at the pedals.”

Smith was puzzled. “Something’s wrong.” He loosened his tie, rolled up his sleeves, and proceeded to climb through the baggage compartment and into the tail cone. He returned minutes later and declared that the rudder was not connected to the push-pull tubes. “Nor,” he said, “had it ever been.” Somewhat embarrassed, he said that “it looks like the airplane left our factory this way.”

I mentally reviewed what might have happened had we experienced an engine failure during our previous flights in the airplane. Without a rudder, there would have been no way to maintain directional control without throttling the good engine and making a power-off forced landing.

Not offering an excuse—it is difficult to visually verify the rudder operation of an Aerostar because the rudder cannot be seen from inside the cockpit. Nor is this unusual. The flight controls of many airplanes cannot be seen from inside the cockpit.

Many large airplanes are equipped with surface-position indicators to verify before takeoff that all flight controls are operating normally. Because lightplanes are not so equipped, these pilots must take greater care. (One way to confirm proper control-surface movement is to observe their shadows.)

Pilots need to be vigilant during preflight inspections conducted after maintenance has been performed. Things might not have been put back together properly, a tool may have been left where it does not belong, or perhaps something has been reinstalled incorrectly.

Another friend, Larry Shapiro, was departing California’s Big Bear Airport (L35), which is surrounded by very tall mountains. Shortly after liftoff in his Beech Travel Air, which had just undergone major maintenance, the left engine failed. And then the right engine failed. Fortunately, Shapiro had just enough altitude to glide over a low ridge and down a narrow valley to a low elevation airport near San Bernardino. Here it was discovered that the fuel selector valves had been reinstalled backwards.

Shortly after I took off in a Cessna 210 that had just had an annual inspection, I heard a loud banging noise from under the cowling. Convinced that the engine was about to come unglued, I declared an emergency and returned immediately to the airport for an emergency landing. After removing the cowling, the mechanic who had performed the inspection found his missing Vice-Grips, which I insisted on keeping. A preflight inspection should never be taken lightly. A problem discovered on the ground is usually only an inconvenience. Taken aloft, it has the potential for tragedy.

By the way, Fishman and I did capture those Soviet held speed records for the United States. Aircraft performance during the second flight, however, could have been better. We were in such a hurry after Smith had connected the rudder that we inadvertently took off with the ignition switch of the left engine selected to the left magneto instead of to Both, proving that checking for discrepancies should be a never ending process.

www.BarrySchiff.com