Forgetful Flying

If I’m forgetting some basic, unrelated tasks before I fly, how can I be sure I’m not forgetting something else?

Aviation Safety

Wednesday, November 06, 2024 at 06:00 AM ET

Verified

Edited By: Omar Filipovic

Key Takeaways:

An experienced pilot, distracted after a conversation, inadvertently took off without his cellphone, keys, or securing his car, which was left open on the ramp.
The incident revealed a significant lapse in personal awareness and pre-takeoff routine, despite having thoroughly preflighted the aircraft.
The author learned the critical importance of pausing before entering the airplane and diligently using checklists to ensure overall readiness, encompassing both the aircraft and personal preparedness/surroundings.

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Long ago and far away, I regularly visited my parents’ hometown in my Cessna 210. The airport closest to them is a non-towered facility with plenty of approaches. Due to some long-term family business, I parked an old car there so I had wheels when I was in town, and the parents didn’t have to come get me every time I visited. Over a couple of years, I got to know the folks at the local FBO fairly well.

At the end of one visit to the parents, I got into a conversation with the line person and a mechanic as I loaded the airplane. It was one of those bonding moments, and I was grateful to get to know someone else in that town. I was in no hurry, so we might have chatted for 30 minutes or so. Soon, the conversation broke up, so I hopped in the 210 and launched VFR for home, a couple of hours away.

I was about 20 minutes up the road when I realized I didn’t have my cellphone. Disgusted with myself for leaving it in my car, I did a 180 and headed back. I landed, taxied in and shut down.

That’s when I realized that not only did I not have my cellphone, but my car was still sitting on the ramp where I left it, with its door open. The cellphone was sitting on a seat, along with my car keys, and there were a couple of other things in the back that I wanted to take with me, but hadn’t the first time.

I was shocked to my toes. I had never done anything like that in 10-plus years of flying. I had preflighted the airplane earlier, before I got into the conversation, so I knew it was ready to fly. Its fuel tanks were full and the engine oil had been checked. I obviously didn’t inspect myself very closely before taking off, however.

Whether it was distractions, old age, fatigue, something else or some combination of all of the above, I had forgotten some basic tasks before climbing in the airplane, including a failure to check my surroundings when I mounted up the previous time. Any kind of a glance around the ramp area would have discovered my car and the need to secure it. What else did I miss, and how can I prevent doing it again?

Checklists. I religiously follow my 210’s checklists, especially for pre-takeoff operations. I’ve had to consult them a few times while airborne, and of course use them when landing—especially in a retractable—and shutting down.

That experience taught me to stop and think a bit before getting in the airplane, as well as the value of checklists.

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