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Final Checks

As these pilots discovered, a takeoff clearance at a busy towered airport doesn’t always mean there isn’t a potential conflict.

Photo: Bart Everett / iStock
Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • A pilot's diligent final visual scan of the runway approach, even after receiving takeoff clearance, prevented a potential collision with a landing aircraft.
  • The incident reinforced the crucial lesson of independently verifying the final approach path for traffic before entering a runway, emphasizing that tower clearances are not infallible.
  • The pilot reflected on the importance of maintaining professional communication with air traffic control, even when correcting their errors.
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The day’s mission was to relocate a friend’s new-to-him Bonanza from Class B International to its new forever home at an outlying field. The ferry pilot who flew it in the night before and the friend were aboard. I was in the left seat because I knew the airspace better and had more Bonanza time than either of them.

During a detailed pre-flight inspection, I pointed out to the new owner several normal items he would want to pay attention to during future operations and, finding nothing that would prevent us from flying the airplane, we saddled up and taxied out.

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