Distraction during the preflight checklist led to a close call for a student pilot.

In July 2024 a pilot fuelled up at Tauranga Airport before making a cross-country trip of about 45 nautical miles.

Before leaving, the pilot conducted a preflight check – but didn’t recheck his fuel.

“My trip out from Tauranga went smoothly,” he says. “But during the preflight before my return journey, I was shocked to see I was missing the fuel cap.

“I couldn’t find it and I had no idea when or how I’d lost it. “I didn’t know if I could even fly without it, but at the same time, I was feeling a bit rushed to beat evening civil twilight.”

Pressure was mounting and the pilot started talking himself into making the flight home.

“I started giving myself excuses to fly. That the fuel wouldn’t spill out as the flight would be mostly level flight, that I just couldn’t get stranded ‘out here’, that it wouldn’t be a big problem.

“I also decided that if I was going to fly back, then I shouldn’t waste any more time on the ground.”

The pilot allowed embarrassment, in part, to influence his decision to fly, says Tauranga CFI James Churchward.

“Embarrassment, combined with time constraint, led him to make the wrong choice.

“He didn’t ring us, he just flew back. I don’t think he fully understood the risks.

“He should have called to advise us the fuel cap was missing, and we would have arranged accommodation for the night.”

During the flight, the pilot started to reflect on his decision to make the return journey, thinking, “This is probably not a good idea”. But, of course, it was too late for such thoughts.

However, the pilot did land safely and afterwards reported to his instructor.

“We walked to the fuel pumps and there it was – the missing fuel cap on the ground,” he says.

Not a new type of incident

“I had a chat with the instructor,” says the pilot, “and I came to agree with him that I had been suffering from ‘get-there-itis’. I put myself under a lot of pressure to make that flight back to Tauranga.”

The aero club grounded the pilot for two weeks.

“We also made him aware of the risk of fuel exhaustion, and gave him a theory lesson in aerodynamics – how fuel can be sucked out of a tank without a cap,” says James.

“The pilot had become distracted during their preflight check, which is not an uncommon precursor to incidents.

“So, as an organisation we now require students to conduct a full, uninterrupted preflight check in the moments before departure.

“This, obviously, is aimed at reducing the risk of this type of occurrence happening again.”

The pilot says he’s learned a lot from the experience.

“I risked engine failure by flying back. Whereas the worst that could have happened if I’d chosen not to fly back is spending the night in the aircraft.

“Now, when even small problems occur, I ask myself, ‘Could this cause a safety issue?’

“And I’m definitely more mindful about fuel caps!”

Photo: iStock.com/BanksPhotos