Page 15 - Volume 11 Number 6

Now the pilot arrives to take delivery of the aircraft. He’s in a rush to leave and has already taxied out before he realizes his mike is in-op. So, he taxis back in, shuts the engines down and barks at the shop because now he is delayed and frustrated. This can happen in reverse too. Some pilots choose to leave systems in the “on” position all the time so they don’t have to remember to turn them on each time they fly. I’ve seen this with windshield heat, pitot heat, and the vent blower, among others. When the aircraft goes in the shop and external power is applied, these systems come on. An unsuspecting mechanic touches the pitot tube and gets his fingerprints burned off.
The pre-flight procedure on a King Air, as specified in your POH, is a long and involved routine. Many are compelled to develop shortcuts. But if they are the only one that flies that airplane, and if they assume the cock- pit is the way they left it last, then they are bound to encounter unwel- come surprises when they get their aircraft out of maintenance – unless they check everything carefully.
Distractions
Back in my days at BeechWest in Van Nuys, California, there was a very sharp owner-operator with a King Air 200. This guy was totally by the book. One day he was pre- flighting out on the ramp. He had an aft cowl open when line service paged him for a phone call. He left what he was doing, went inside to take the call, then came back out and continued his pre-flight. On takeoff, that rear cowl ripped off as soon as he rotated. That’s when he realized he had forgotten to latch the cowl properly before taking that call, and after that call he failed to backtrack over what he had been doing when he was paged.
A few years ago, an owner- operator was pre-flighting his E90 when the fuel truck operator came by to clarify his fuel request. He was on a step ladder checking his oil at the time, so he got down to talk to the fuel truck operator then finished his pre-flight. He loaded his
JUNE 2017
KING AIR MAGAZINE • 13