Checklist Discipline (updated)
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photo courtesy of Dan O’Leary
Checklist Discipline
(Update) Fellow pilot and friend Mike Wojcik contributed to this piece. See his work below regarding a checklist he developed for the Tecnam.
Ever thought about your checklist? I mean really thought about it? It is much more than a faded and tattered occupier of precious cockpit real estate. It is one of your key weapons on the war against pilot error.
Every time you reach for that checklist you are potentially trapping errors. Conversely not being disciplined in how you use the checklist can negate all those benefits.
Conventions for good checklist usage:
- Don’t rush the checklist
- Read and then Do
- If interrupted start over
- If skipping critical items, use a memory jogger
Many folks will modify the manufacturer’s version to better suit their needs.
photo courtesy of Mary Hodder
You should use caution if planning to rewrite a checklist, but if done correctly it can make it more usable and error-resistant.
(update) My friend Mike Wojcik flies a variety of airplanes, but one of his recent steeds has been the Tecnam P92. He created his own checklist that is serial number specific to the airplane he flies. It incorporates elements of the ‘flow’ human factors concept as well as readability and one piece convenience (printed on a single two-sided laminated card). He also placed important general and aircraft specific safety information on there as well. This represents what can be done when you take the time to do a well thought out rewrite of your aircraft’s checklist.
I am a big fan of electronic checklist. They are not foolproof, but they do offer functionality and flexibility that you just can’t do with paper. Not to mention it doesn’t take up space if it’s a feature of your avionics.
Take the time to review your abnormal or emergency checklist. Being in the middle of an in-flight problem is the wrong time to be reading these little-used sections for the first time.
There is another reason to do this; some checklists are chocked full of notes and fine print, again not easily deciphered in the heat of battle.
Surprisingly there is scarcely little training on the subject. You obviously use the checklist during training, but there’s not much conversation on the nuances of it.
There is more I could expound on the subject, but I’ll refrain from belaboring the point. Good checklist discipline is a cheap and easy way to make us safer.
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Checklists are such a bugaboo because they are so often canned and written in a way that for whatever reason are jarring to execute, jumping from one part of the plane to another. This also makes it tiresome to go from the checklist to the plane and back.
What I did for the Piper Archer was rearrange tasks (our local mechanic nor my flight instructor saw anything wrong with the rearrangement) by location in the cockpit of the task, and then grouped small numbers of related tasks in colored rectangles. I then do each group at once, and return to the checklist.
The groups follow clear patterns of movement in the cockpit to facilitate this and develop a natural “flow” that then viscerally feels wrong if I’m out of step or have missed something. For instance for engine start, my first group is “All switches off; all circuit breakers in.” This is a natural left to right movement across the switch panel, then down to the breaker panel, then back left across it. Next is “Carb heat off; mixture rich; throttle cracked; prime as required.” that continues the right to left movement right where I left off. The grouping stops there because priming is a fiddly task involving twisting and pumping of the primer, and takes time.
I’ve found this works very very well for me and it’s been ages since I have missed an item. I’m curious what you think of the idea.
Charlie,
I think that’s a great idea. One thing I have learned, is most checklist are written by engineers and attorneys. The human factors and other considerations are secondary. The abbreviated checklist in most light planes do not account for the variety of equipment installed so they don’t fully reflect the necessary steps anyway. You are the operator so you should be allowed to modify the checklists as you see fit.
That’s an excellent point. It never occurred to me that published checklists might not be written by pilots but now that I think about it I’m sure you are right.
Thanks’ for sharing this Brent. It was really a fun exercise in creating it. There are so many pluses for homebuilders, owners and renters to do so. It made me understand the aircraft and its limitations better, I spend less time on the ground while the Hobbs meter ticks away and it is a fun and easy way for passengers to help and be the co-pilot just to name a few. Keep up the good work.
Thanks for your contribution Mike! Good stuff!
Brent