PA-22 Fatal near Kingman AZ

[Steve Pierce]

His Face book page is no longer there, at least I can't get to it. An experienced pilot would know to check all this on pre-flight, at least I do. I spend most of the time pumping my own gas, but sometimes the FBO will do it. Every time I fly my plane it gets a pre-flight check, even if it is a quick turn around or just to fuel up the plane. It's hard to believe, but I see a lot of people, including students with instructors, fly in, fuel the aircraft, jump right back in and be gone. No pre-flight check no run up, just fuel and fly.

I don't pre-flight my airplane when I get fuel. I fuel my own airplane.

[wlveal]

I took my private pilot ride at an airport about two hours from home. After the check ride, I fueled the PA-22 and headed for home. I was on cloud 9 until I got home and started to fuel the airplane. One cap was missing and I had lost a significant amount of fuel from that tank. I must have forgotten to replace the cap. I developed a habit of just before entering the plane I check for chocks out, prop area clear, both fuel caps secure. On my current PA=22, one of the first things I did was to paint lines on my caps so I can see if they are correctly seated from behind the wing. I also have a habit of looking over my shoulders after takeoff to see if fuel is coming off the wings. In the years since my private checkride, I have never taken off with a missing cap, but I have found a couple missing or not seated correctly just before getting into the airplane.

[smcnutt]

I don't pre-flight my airplane when I get fuel. I fuel my own airplane.

I assume that you sump the tanks after adding fuel?

I certainly don't do a full pre-flight inspection whenever I stop. If I've been away from the plane (eating lunch, etc) I might walk around to make sure it was not banged into. Depending on how busy the ramp is. If it's a fly-in with lots of people walking around I probably would do a full pre-flight.

Sent from my SM-T350 using ShortWingPipers.Org mobile app

[ClippedWing]

I assume that you sump the tanks after adding fuel?

I certainly don't do a full pre-flight inspection whenever I stop. If I've been away from the plane (eating lunch, etc) I might walk around to make sure it was not banged into. Depending on how busy the ramp is. If it's a fly-in with lots of people walking around I probably would do a full pre-flight.

Sent from my SM-T350 using ShortWingPipers.Org mobile app

Unless you wait 20-30 minutes or more after fueling, sumping the tanks is a fool’s errand. I think both ends of the spectrum are funny. Someone that performs a full preflight after just flying the aircraft is just as silly as someone who parks it on a ramp for a couple of hours and hops in and starts her up. Common sense should prevail. If you’ve just flown the aircraft, shut down and didn't leave her unattended there is no reason (or requirement) to perform a full preflight. On the other end, if you leave the aircraft unattended for any length of time, it’s a good idea to perform at least a quick walk around to ensure nothing is missing or damaged.

[Jeff J]

I have made it a personal policy to never turn away from the aircraft with a fuel cap loose... even if it’s just to get the fuel hose. It’s amazing how fast fuel comes out of that hole once the wing starts generating lift.

It’s not practical to do a full preflight between close interval flights. Even the military does not do it and they thrive on overkill waste of time things to do. They do a much quicker thru-flight inspection instead.

[Gilbert Pierce]

My fuel caps are the original Piper cap with the horizontal bar across the top. When properly installed that bar is parallel to the wing chord. After fueling and a break at the fob facility, a quick walk behind the airplane I can quickly verify the cap is on tight as I can see the bar from the ground. I got rid of the smooth top caps that you can only verify by climbing up on the wing to verify after I lost one leaving OSH 20+ years ago.

[Steve Pierce]

LOL, I was at a get together this weekend where we flew into an airport for fuel that was having a pumpkin drop. Lots of activity and a bit more help than I am use to. I have a fueling ritual which got broken and I didn't put my cap back on. Had to shut down when someone made me aware of it to install it. That was probably Karma.

[CamTom12]

LOL, I was at a get together this weekend where we flew into an airport for fuel that was having a pumpkin drop. Lots of activity and a bit more help than I am use to. I have a fueling ritual which got broken and I didn't put my cap back on. Had to shut down when someone made me aware of it to install it. That was probably Karma.

I had a similar incident a few weeks ago - got completely disrupted by local events and forgot the thing I said is never forget.

It was embarrassing, but I feel way more vigilant now.

[bluejeepdad]

Unless you wait 20-30 minutes or more after fueling, sumping the tanks is a fool’s errand.

This is to give enough time for any water to migrate to the sump?

What about mis-fueling with Jet-A; since it is more dense than avgas wouldn't it show up pretty quickly?

Tim

[Mireaviation]

I'm sure this will go against the grain of the subjugates who believe a certificate from the Feds will make you a better pilot than those without. I have met some rogue unlicensed pilots that I would trust to fly more than my certificated self. I know a fellow even had the nerve to compete in the STOL competition without a license back when it was in Gulkana. I once had a over rated pilot neighbor with over 20,000 hours, mostly corp jets, and couldn't fly his own 65HP Aeronca. Not joking either, he was scared to death of that airplane. People are strange and do strange things. Maybe Mr. Anderson was wrong, an idiot, or whatever, but the certificate doesn't make anyone immune from something mechanical, bird strikes, medical anomalies, forgetting fuel caps and certainly doesn't guarantee a better pilot.

The man possibly lost the love of his life and that's his problem to explain and deal with, not mine and doesn't reflect on me or anyone I know in the “community”.