Post-Maintenance Preflight Tips

brakes and control locks for example. But after mechanics have been pawing around in it

Tuesday, May 22, 2018 at 12:00 AM ET

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Key Takeaways:

Pilots are the final authority on aircraft airworthiness and must perform especially thorough preflight inspections after maintenance, as these aircraft have a higher likelihood of safety-of-flight issues.
Always review maintenance records to understand what work was performed and specifically inspect related components such as flight controls, fuel systems, hydraulics, electrical systems, and landing gear.
The first flight after maintenance should be a cautious operational check, ideally conducted in good VFR conditions over sparsely populated areas, to verify normal flight characteristics rather than pushing the aircraft's limits.
FAR 91.407 dictates that an appropriately rated pilot must conduct an operational check flight before carrying passengers if maintenance may have "appreciably changed" flight characteristics.

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When discussing preflight inspections, I sometimes hear pilots remark, “I don’t know what I am looking for.” That’s unfortunate, because the pilot is the final authority regarding the aircraft’s airworthiness. As a pilot, you have the responsibility to accept the aircraft as-is and be on your merry way or reject it as unsuitable if something isn’t right. Since it’s up to you to determine if something isn’t right, you probably should at least know a few things to look for.