Preflight checklist

In aviation, a preflight checklist is a list of tasks that should be performed by pilots and aircrew prior to takeoff.

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.

[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.