Welcome to this installment of the FAA's Rotorcraft Collective Series. We've been taught from
Day-One that a safe flight is preceded by a comprehensive Pre-Flight Inspection. Do
you know where to concentrate your efforts on a preflight after maintenance? Let's cover
a few good practices for your next Pre-Flight, stressing after-maintenance items. Summer
2016, a pilot for the Tennessee Valley Authority was killed in a Bell 407 on a flight to Hickory,
Kentucky. During a routine landing at about seventy-five feet, the helicopter suddenly
went sideways, rolled and hit the ground on its right side. Investigators found the collective
lever disconnected from the pivot sleeve and its attaching hardware was found in the wreckage
near the main rotor hub. The collective lever had not been safety-wired, allowing the screws
to work themselves out after only thirty-eight flight hours. That’s just one example of
the vital importance of a solid pre-flight after maintenance or an inspection. An aircraft
coming out of maintenance demands a thorough look-over. Here is what we recommend you focus
on. If possible, have the mechanic who performed the work or a quality assurance person walk
around the aircraft with you. He or she can point out things we as pilots might miss.
Review the maintenance records including any previous squawks to see what work was completed
and focus on those areas during your inspection. Check the aircraft for panels or cowlings
that may have been opened or removed. Always remember that maintenance in one area might
require work involving system elements in completely separate locations. Now you are
ready to perform a heavy post-maintenance preflight. Let's look at some "best practices"
for the pre-flight Inspection. Prepare and use a preflight kit including everything necessary
for a thorough inspection: flashlights, inspection mirror, the current preflight inspection checklist,
and any other tools or materials needed to access the aircraft, including work stands
or ladders. Include that preflight kit in your tool control program. Perform the preflight
with cowlings removed so you can look at the flight controls, transmission or other work
areas that would otherwise be inaccessible. Take a hard look for foreign objects like
tools, pieces of safety wire or hardware that may have been left behind. Look at bolt and
screw heads with safety wire holes that may be missing safety wire. That’s what destroyed
the accident aircraft - and it was never caught on the subsequent preflights! Challenge yourself
to find something wrong or out of place! Actively use a formal preflight checklist during inspections.
Note steps completed and items of concern. Do you check the following on your heavy post-maintenance
preflight? The areas where maintenance was done. Filter bowl security. Filter by-pass
indicator extension. Missing cotter pins or safety wire. Are slippage marks in place and
have they slipped or cracked? Are the oil-level viewing plates stained making it look like
there’s oil when there really isn't any? How do the elastomeric or greaseable bearings
look on the main and tail rotors? How do the hangar bearings and flex plate beveled washers
and hardware look? All tie-downs, covers, locking devices, and ground-handling equipment
must be removed and securely stowed. Perform a final pre-start rotor check by visually
confirming that the main and tail rotors are untied and all panels and cargo are secured.
Perform an operational check and take one last look for leaks before you commit to the
flight. It’s vital to devote additional time so you can detect those subtle mistakes
like improperly installed hardware or missing safety wire. If there’s any doubt about
an airworthiness issue, check with your mechanic. Once you pull collective, you are committed!
For the FAA Safety Team and the U.S. Helicopter Safety Team, I'm James Dangerfield.