In aviation, a preflight checklist is a list of tasks that should be performed by pilots and aircrew prior to takeoff. Its purpose is to improve flight safety by ensuring that no important tasks are forgotten. Failure to correctly conduct a preflight check using a checklist is a major contributing factor to aircraft accidents. [1]
According to researcher and writer Atul Gawande, the concept of a pre-flight checklist was first introduced by management and engineers at the Boeing Company following the 1935 crash of the prototype Boeing B-17 (then known as the Model 299) at Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio, killing both pilots. [2] Investigation found that the pilots had forgotten to disengage the crucial gust locks (devices which stop control surfaces moving in the wind while parked) prior to take-off. Life magazine published the resulting lengthy and detailed B-17 checklist in its 24 August 1942 issue. [3]
The FAA's Federal Aviation Regulations explicitly requires a checklist for Federal Aviation Regulations, Part 121 operators (scheduled air carriers): [9]
(a) Each certificate holder shall provide an approved cockpit check procedure for each type of aircraft.
(b) The approved procedures must include each item necessary for flight crewmembers to check for safety before starting engines, taking off, or landing, and in engine and systems emergencies. The procedures must be designed so that a flight crewmember will not need to rely upon his memory for items to be checked.
(c) The approved procedures must be readily usable in the cockpit of each aircraft and the flight crew shall follow them when operating the aircraft.
Continental Express was the operating brand name used by a number of independently owned regional airlines providing commuter airliner and regional jet feeder service under agreement with Continental Airlines. In 2012 at the time of Continental's merger with United Airlines, two carriers were operating using the Continental Express brand name:
Delta Air Lines Flight 1141 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight between Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas and Salt Lake City, Utah. On August 31, 1988, the flight, using a Boeing 727-200 series aircraft, crashed during takeoff, resulting in 14 deaths and 76 injuries of the 108 on board.
On August 16, 1987 a McDonnell Douglas MD-82, operating as Northwest Airlines Flight 255, crashed shortly after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, about 8:46 pm EDT, resulting in the deaths of all six crew members and 148 of the 149 passengers, along with two people on the ground. The sole survivor was a 4-year-old girl who sustained serious injuries. It was the second-deadliest aviation accident at the time in the United States. It is also the deadliest aviation accident to have a sole survivor.
Pan Am Flight 759 was a regularly scheduled domestic passenger flight from Miami to San Diego, with en route stops in New Orleans and Las Vegas. On July 9, 1982, the Boeing 727 flying this route crashed in the New Orleans suburb of Kenner after being forced down by a microburst shortly after takeoff. All 145 on board, as well as eight people on the ground, were killed.
USAir Flight 5050 was a passenger flight that crashed on takeoff from LaGuardia Airport in Queens, New York. As the plane took off from LaGuardia's runway 31, the plane drifted to the left. After hearing a loud bang, the pilots attempted to reject the takeoff, but were unable to stop the plane short of the end of the runway. The plane continued past the end of the runway and plunged into Bowery Bay. Two passengers were killed.
United Airlines Flight 173 was a scheduled flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City to Portland International Airport in Portland, Oregon, with a scheduled stop in Denver, Colorado. On December 28, 1978, the aircraft flying this route ran out of fuel while troubleshooting a landing gear problem and crashed in a suburban Portland neighborhood near NE 157th Avenue and East Burnside Street, killing 10 on board.
Air New Orleans was an airline based in Birmingham, Alabama that was conceived as a commuter air carrier to provide scheduled passenger service to cities throughout the Southeastern United States from Texas to Florida. The airline was founded in 1981 in Panama City, Florida and operated scheduled passenger service between 1981 and 1988.
Colgan Air Flight 9446 was a repositioning flight operated by Colgan Air for US Airways Express. On August 26, 2003, the Beechcraft 1900D crashed into water 300 feet (91 m) offshore from Yarmouth, Massachusetts, shortly after taking off from Barnstable Municipal Airport in Hyannis. Both pilots were killed.
The British Aerospace Jetstream is a small twin turboprop airliner, with a pressurised fuselage, developed as the Jetstream 31 from the earlier Handley Page Jetstream. A larger version of the Jetstream was also manufactured, the British Aerospace Jetstream 41.
United Airlines Flight 2885 was a scheduled cargo flight from Cleveland to Los Angeles, with stopover in Detroit. On January 11, 1983, a DC-8 operating as Flight 2885 crashed after take-off from Detroit, killing all three crew members. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation determined that the cause for the crash was pilot error. A radioactive package was found on board, but no radioactive material was spilled.
American Airlines Flight 383 was a scheduled passenger flight from O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois to Miami International Airport. On October 28, 2016, the Boeing 767-300ER operating the flight suffered an engine fire during takeoff. The crew aborted their takeoff, evacuating everyone on board, of whom 21 were injured. The plane was a write-off.
Japan Air Lines Cargo Flight 1045 was a charter flight on January 13, 1977, from Grant County, Washington, United States, to Tokyo, Japan, with a stopover in Anchorage, Alaska, United States. The flight crashed during the initial climb phase, shortly after takeoff from Anchorage, in part because the flight captain, Hugh L. Marsh, was intoxicated as shown by a blood alcohol level of 0.29; the co-pilot and the other crew were not impaired. All of those on board, including three flight crew members and two cattle handlers, were killed in the crash.
Pan Am Flight 799 was an international cargo flight from Los Angeles International Airport to Cam Ranh Airport in South Vietnam that crashed on December 26, 1968, near Anchorage, Alaska. The aircraft involved was a Boeing 707-321C aircraft operated by Pan American World Airways. All three crew members died in the crash.
Trans World Airlines Flight 5787 was an unscheduled training flight of a Boeing 707 from Atlantic City Airport in Pomona, New Jersey in 1969. The flight was planned as a proficiency check, testing crew response to a simulated single-engine failure during takeoff and landing. Because of a fatigue failure of a hydraulic pipe, hydraulic power was lost while flying at low speed on three engines, resulting in loss of control and a crash killing all on board.
Ryan International Airlines Flight 590 was a cargo flight carrying mail for the United States Postal Service from Greater Buffalo International Airport (BUF) in Buffalo, New York, to Indianapolis International Airport (IND) in Indiana, with a stopover at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (CLE) in Cleveland, Ohio. On February 17, 1991, the McDonnell Douglas DC-9-15RC operating the flight crashed on takeoff from Cleveland during icing conditions. Both pilots, the aircraft's only occupants, were killed. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined that the causes of the crash were the flight crew failing to deice their aircraft, and the inexperience of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), McDonnell Douglas, and Ryan International Airlines with icing condition on DC-9-10 aircraft.
Evergreen International Airlines Flight 17 (4U17/EIA17) was a cargo flight operated by Evergreen International Airlines and flown by a McDonnell Douglas DC-9. On March 18, 1989, the flight's planned route was scheduled to take it from Kelly Air Force Base to Tinker Air Force Base, with a stop at Carswell Air Force Base in Fort Worth, Texas. The two pilots were the only occupants on board. Immediately after takeoff from Carswell, the aircraft's main cargo door opened, the crew lost control of the aircraft and it subsequently crashed while attempting an emergency landing, killing both pilots.
Ameristar Charters Flight 9363 was an air charter flight from Willow Run Airport in Ypsilanti, Michigan to Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Virginia, which experienced a rejected takeoff and runway excursion on March 8, 2017 as the result of a jammed elevator; the McDonnell Douglas MD-83 operating the flight was substantially damaged, but only one injury and no fatalities occurred to the 116 crew and passengers on board.
Tower Air Flight 41 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York City, to Miami International Airport (MIA) in Florida. On December 20, 1995, the Boeing 747-100 operating the flight veered off the runway during takeoff from JFK. All 468 people on board survived, but 25 people were injured. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair and written off, making the accident the 25th hull loss of a Boeing 747. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) concluded that the captain had failed to reject the takeoff in a timely manner.
On October 19, 2021, a corporate McDonnell Douglas MD-87, registered as N987AK, crashed and caught fire during take-off, 1,600 feet (500 m) from Houston Executive Airport. Those on board, 18 passengers and three crew members, were safely evacuated out of the aircraft. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair and was subsequently written-off.
The report describes an accident in which an emergency landing was made because of severe yawing and engine torque fluctuation during climbout. It reviews evidence indicating that the probable cause of the accident was breakdown of the flightcrew coordination, which resulted in their failure to comply with the Before Takeoff Checklist and advance the RPM levels to the high RPM position, and the flightcrew's failure to diagnose and remedy engine oscillations on initial climbout. Crew training and checklist design are discussed and a safety recommendation is made to the Federal Aviation Administration regarding criteria for the type size of the checklist.