A pilot at our hangar in Phoenix said something that still bugs me

He was watching me do a pre-flight on a Cessna 172 and said, 'You guys just follow the book, you don't really think.' Happened maybe two months back. I told him the book is there because people died to write it, but he just shrugged. It felt like he didn't get that the rules are the job. Has anyone else had a pilot or crew question why you stick to the manual so close?

3 comments

3 Comments

sean5021mo agoTop Commenter

What's his problem with staying alive?

garcia.charles22d ago

Pull the checklist card out every single time, even for a quick preflight. Skipping steps is how you miss the little stuff that kills you. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.

fionak631mo ago

Yeah, "staying alive" is the whole point. I read a crash report where a pilot skipped steps to save time and missed a fuel leak. The book isn't just rules, it's a checklist for survival that guy clearly forgot.