Brief Everything
Photo courtesy of Ivan Luciani
Even if you go through the de-ice/anti-ice and cold weather start procedures several times each week, when a new winter shows up you probably need a refresher. If you are moving from one aircraft type to another, or one airport to another, your existing memorized procedures may not be as complete as you may hope. You should know where all the existing aircraft, airport and company procedures are, and you should have them handy so you can review them before each snowy day departure. Having a tailored checklist can be a life saver.
Short story: My first takeoff following de-icing in a Gulfstream GV was following a 12-year break from Gulfstreams and I wasn’t, shall we say, as well versed on the procedures as I should have been. I had assumed the obedient copilot’s stereotype of assuming the captain knew what he was doing and I would learn what I needed to know in due time. We took off from Nashua Airport, Nashua, New Hampshire (KASH) after taxiing through a messy ramp, but the airplane was coming from our toasty warm hangar, it was clean and there was no reason to de-ice. Right after takeoff the captain called “gear up” and as I dutifully retracted the gear a voice in my head said, “mistake.” A few hours later we landed. The captain gently set down the main gear onto a dry runway and as soon as that happened, the nose pivoted around the mains, slamming down hard. The brakes appeared to be locked, but of course they were caked in ice. Fortunately, they broke free, costing nothing more than some wear on the airplane and the captain’s reputation with our passengers. He said, “I should have left the gear down for a minute after takeoff to check blow off the ice. I thought about it but forgot in the heat of battle.” Of course, I should have remembered too. Perhaps had we covered this in the briefing, one of us would have remembered.