As the oft-paraphrased aphorism goes, all is well when the ties that bind us are stronger than the stresses that can separate us. The same goes for parking an aircraft. When we properly secure it after a flight, it’s reasonable to expect it’ll be there when we return. Once we release the ties that bind it, our aircraft will again provide us with reliable transportation. Most of the time, that is how it works. Other times, just a little inattention and improper securing of the aircraft—or improperly reversing the process during the preflight inspection—can and does lead to accidents.
It is hard to learn much about tiedown errors from the NTSB because a tied-down airplane isn’t in motion, so there is usually no report. However, there is ample material in NASA’s Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) database from the self-reported NASA forms people use to admit their mistakes (and avoid potential enforcement actions) in the hope other pilots can learn from them. The bottom line is that properly securing an aircraft outside (i.e., not in an enclosed hangar) is a safety system that doesn’t always get the consideration it deserves. So here are some of the weakest links we’ve found in the tiedown chain.
