When Richard gets to that part of his pre-takeoff checklist, “Flight Controls Free and Clear,” and I move my leg out of the way I often think of the plane that crashed here at KFUL due to a gust lock that had not been removed. The pilot had designed it to hold the elevator up so that he could fit the plane in the hangar past a parked vehicle. When the pilot took off with the elevator locked in the full up position his fate was sealed. I don’t know if he didn’t have that step on his checklist or if he skipped it that fateful evening, but to Richard’s shock and horror he witnessed a fireball at the far end of the runway when the plane crashed.
Aviation checklists seem to become so routine that it’s easy to forget many of them are created from blood and ash.
When I put on the life vest before our flight this morning, I had the same thought as every other time I pick it up, “Am I going to get wet today?” A surreal conversation with death becomes normal and I find comfort in planning for every situation. Yes, we got home safely.
I’ve lost track of the number of accident review videos from FAA findings that we have watched, but I am always amazed that there is more to learn and remember.
Keep your checklists close, and always use them.
