Checklist Discipline

The Aeronca Champs checklist was simple, befitting most small aircraft of the late 50s: "CIGAR" stood for Controls, Instruments, Gas, Attitude, Run-up and, sometimes, Runway. Time and experience brought along more-complicated airplanes and checklists, but it was still hard to mess up by using CIGAR. Following USAF pilot training, I became an instructor pilot in the T-37. Its checklist was a bit more complicated. When students asked about checklist sequencing, there was the standard answer: Checklist discipline. Not too much to question, but not too much to mess up, either.

A Bartlett

Tuesday, March 23, 2010 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Aviation checklists, from simple to complex, require strict "checklist discipline" to ensure safety and proper operation.
An F-4 Phantom II was severely damaged and subsequently destroyed when its external fuel tanks were accidentally jettisoned upon power application due to two overlooked switches and a skipped pre-power checklist.
This procedural error rapidly escalated into a massive fuel fire, which spread to and destroyed a nearby F-8 Crusader, emphasizing the critical importance of adhering to every step of a checklist.

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The Aeronca Champs checklist was simple, befitting most small aircraft of the late 50s: “CIGAR” stood for Controls, Instruments, Gas, Attitude, Run-up and, sometimes, Runway. Time and experience brought along more-complicated airplanes and checklists, but it was still hard to mess up by using CIGAR.

Following USAF pilot training, I became an instructor pilot in the T-37. Its checklist was a bit more complicated. When students asked about checklist sequencing, there was the standard answer: Checklist discipline. Not too much to question, but not too much to mess up, either.