Change Your Checklist

Checklists get taken for granted-settle into your seat in the cockpit, pull out the booklet or laminated cards, turn to the Before Engine Start page and start following the steps. Fire up the engine(s) and proceed down to After Engine Start and Before Taxi. Sound familiar? For most flying under 14 CFR Part 91, this read-then-do routine is the norm all the way to Parking and Securing. While many pilots with a fair amount of experience-particularly those with their own aircraft-will often go a step beyond and make their own checklists, there are far more efficient methods to get things done on time and in the proper order.

Elaine Kauh

Tuesday, September 13, 2016 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

The article criticizes traditional, bulky "read-then-do" checklists for promoting rote memorization, increasing "heads-down" time in the cockpit, and fostering bad habits like ignoring redundant items.
It advocates for replacing these with a "flow and check" system, where pilots use muscle memory and logical cockpit sequences (flows) to efficiently accomplish tasks.
Under this new system, the actual checklist becomes a concise tool used *after* the flow to confirm all steps were completed, thereby enhancing situational awareness and cockpit resource management.

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Checklists get taken for granted—settle into your seat in the cockpit, pull out the booklet or laminated cards, turn to the “Before Engine Start” page and start following the steps. Fire up the engine(s) and proceed down to “After Engine Start” and “Before Taxi.”

Sound familiar? For most flying under 14 CFR Part 91, this read-then-do routine is the norm all the way to “Parking and Securing.” While many pilots with a fair amount of experience—particularly those with their own aircraft—will often go a step beyond and make their own checklists, there are far more efficient methods to get things done on time and in the proper order.