Post-Repair Flights: Recognize the Risks

Hey, it's just a routine annual and those are new spark plugs - what could go wrong? Let's see, those are new spark plugs, the airplane has been opened up and left in a storage hangar waiting for parts and it's being worked on by humans - what could go wrong?

All things being equal, accident data reflect that we pilots are pretty good at dealing with the risks involved with repeatedly causing inanimate objects to leave the ground, move through the air and land. Unfortunately, things are not always equal, and the factors that make us human, such as stress, distraction and impatience, can conspire to elevate the risks involved with a given flight to the point where the return to the planet is not as intended. 

The very good news is that when we are conscious of high-risk circumstances, most, beyond the “hold my beer and watch this” set, are mature enough to act to reduce the risk to an acceptable level. 

Rick Durden

Senior Editor Rick Durden has written for Aviation Consumer since 1994 and specializes in aviation law. Rick is an active CFII and holds an ATP with type ratings in the Douglas DC-3 and Cessna Citation. He is the author of The Thinking Pilot’s Flight Manual or, How to Survive Flying Little Airplanes and Have a Ball Doing It, Vols. 1 & 2.