I had a really stupid and crazy thing happen this past weekend.
The plan was simple: I was going to shoot three practice approaches at nearby airports with two pilot friends aboard my Arrow followed by a lunch stop. Saturday was a fine VFR day here in Plymouth Massachusetts. We departed runway 24 and I donned my Foggles on a normal climb out with my safety pilot at the controls. 15 minutes into the flight my backseat passenger said, “Tom, take off your Foggles and look at your left wing.” Now for the stupid part. The fuel port neck was wide-open and I was spilling fuel back along the wing. I realized I had forgotten to replace the cap during my preflight check. Now for the crazy part. There was the fuel cap right where I left it sitting on top of the wing just outboard of the fuel port at 130 MPH at 3000 feet!
A quick call to ATC informing them of my issue and a quick diversion to New Bedford which was just under my left wing and I was on the ground in another five minutes. The cap stayed put and the controller got a good chuckle as he let us park for a moment under the tower to replace the cap.
How did I get so lucky? Maybe this whole thing about lift is overrated. Perhaps it’s just air speed and money that keeps planes in the air.
Lesson learned: always perform a final walk around!
PS: The three of us are kicking ourselves for not taking a picture of the cap out on the wing.
The plan was simple: I was going to shoot three practice approaches at nearby airports with two pilot friends aboard my Arrow followed by a lunch stop. Saturday was a fine VFR day here in Plymouth Massachusetts. We departed runway 24 and I donned my Foggles on a normal climb out with my safety pilot at the controls. 15 minutes into the flight my backseat passenger said, “Tom, take off your Foggles and look at your left wing.” Now for the stupid part. The fuel port neck was wide-open and I was spilling fuel back along the wing. I realized I had forgotten to replace the cap during my preflight check. Now for the crazy part. There was the fuel cap right where I left it sitting on top of the wing just outboard of the fuel port at 130 MPH at 3000 feet!
A quick call to ATC informing them of my issue and a quick diversion to New Bedford which was just under my left wing and I was on the ground in another five minutes. The cap stayed put and the controller got a good chuckle as he let us park for a moment under the tower to replace the cap.
How did I get so lucky? Maybe this whole thing about lift is overrated. Perhaps it’s just air speed and money that keeps planes in the air.
Lesson learned: always perform a final walk around!
PS: The three of us are kicking ourselves for not taking a picture of the cap out on the wing.
