![]() the sensation of the normal catapult acceleration was Immediately after the incident, both the ship’s absent. I felt the holda mere 15 feet from the deck edge, and I was looking at back fitting release as the button was pushed however, nothing but water under my left wingtip. tioned my left hand on the throttle and my right hand The aircraft finally stopped, with the port main mount on the canopy bow handle (towel rack). But after annual inspection or any maintenance requiring the battery to be disconnected would warrant a close look before flight.As the Catapult Officer returned my salute, I posiin the greasy cat track, offering no friction whatever. Batteries on the other hand are not always easily inspected without removing a rear bulkhead or access plate. Alternators are generally always visible for inspection on all preflight inspections. So, yes, a thorough preflight inspection just after maintenance would have been appropriate, especially if the electrical system was what was being worked on. So, were the cables not screw down properly? Again, hard to understand how one could start the engine, takeoff into IMC conditions if the battery and alternator were in the failed mode on the ground. The alternator would then have functioned until the cables vibrated off. But then again, maybe the cables were placed on the posts and again not screwed down. There would have been an annunciator light and the amp meter would have read zero. If the alternator was not hooked up then it should have been obvious in the cockpit the alternator was inop. ![]() This would allow the engine to start but in flight the cables could have vibrated off. If so, how did he start the engine without batter power? Let’s assume the cables were placed on the battery posts but not screwed down. He said the battery and alternator had not been hooked back up. The presenter in the 57 sec video related a personal experience when after the plane was released from maintenance he found himself in day IMC with a total electrical failure. That led the FAA to put together a video in its 57 Seconds to Safer Flying series, “Advanced Preflight After Maintenance.” While it’s been available for a couple of years, it’s worth the minute to check it out to get some tips on how to ensure you have a safe flight. In many cases, although the maintenance personnel made the initial mistake, the pilot could have prevented the accident by performing a thorough or advanced preflight check, FAA officials add. In-flight emergencies have been the direct result of maintenance personnel who have serviced or installed systems incorrectly, FAA officials note. The General Aviation Joint Steering Committee (GAJSC) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have determined that a significant number of general aviation fatalities could be avoided if pilots conducted more thorough preflight inspections of aircraft that have just been returned to service after maintenance. But other times it’s something really serious, like when a Piper PA-22 crashed after a mechanic incorrectly rigged the aileron control cables. ![]() Sometimes it’s nothing, like this one where the pilot thought there was a maintenance problem, but it was just his seat belt hanging outside the door. Lately, however, I’ve been noticing more reports on accidents and incidents that happen on the first flight after maintenance. ![]() And month after month I see a similar pattern in those reports, with pilots running out of fuel or flying scarily close to another airplane in the pattern. Every month I put together the NTSB Accident Reports and the Aviation Safety Reporting System posts for General Aviation News. ![]()
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