Skipping the Post-Flight Walkaround Can Be Costly

Tuesday, May 31, 2022 at 04:28 PM ET

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If you don't do a post-flight walkaround, it's likely you won't notice the issue until the next flight. [File photo: Adobe vStock]

Key Takeaways:

Thorough post-flight walkarounds and inspections are crucial for pilots to prevent embarrassing, costly, and potentially dangerous issues on subsequent flights.
Complacency, often stemming from comfort and rushing after a flight, is a common pilot error that leads to neglecting essential post-flight checks.
Pilots should adopt an "owner's mindset" to go beyond basic checklists, ensuring comprehensive aircraft care, protecting its value, and enhancing readiness for future flights.

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Despite some of my instructors doing their best to drill into me how important a thorough post-flight walkaround was to end a flight properly, it wasn’t until some self-inflicted embarrassing experiences that I learned my lesson.

If you are familiar with this type of pilot error, you’ll also know that it’s likely you won’t notice the issue until the next flight, which could prove to be costly if you realize only then that you need maintenance—not the quick kind—or suddenly your startup checklists aren’t making much sense, even though you’re doing all the “right things.”