| Interesting that the older models of Cessna actually had ash trays installed for the smoking convenience of the pilot and passengers while they flew. Imaging a fuel leak and an open flame.
As an F-4 back seater, one particular pilot always asked me to fly home from the bombing range so he could drop his mask and have a smoke on the way. Same guy who flew (without me in the back seat) through the "Box" (area 51) twice in one Red Flag mission. The guys in black PJ's met he and his back seater at the plane, after landing (his wingman too), and we didn't see him for a couple of days. I'm confident they did the Men in Black Flashy Thingie on him so he wouldn't remember what he saw.
John IVP N413AJ 300 hours and waiting for Spring in Seattle, 52 degrees and drizzling....
On Jul 15, 2011, at 11:40 AM, Bryan Wullner wrote: Thats called NOD in the "Safety Management System" world. Normalization of Deviance. Its the main reason we continue to break airpanes and kill people.
Bryan
You should NEVER smell fuel in the cockpit at any time. If you do, this should be an immediate red flag and indicates a fuel leak. Every time I open the door on an airplane, I smell for fuel. I cannot count the number of times I've mentioned a fuel smell to the owner when I was to give flight instruction and the answer was always. "yes, it smells like that if the plane has been shut up for a while-that's normal". This is not normal and even though it may be a small leak, it is a leak and that is dangerous on several levels. Just because that's the way it's always been doesn't mean its ok.
RonG
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