GA1368

As the reporter comments, distraction by the oil issue during the walk-round was a key aspect but there are probably other things for us all to think about as well. Was the towbar painted a bright colour to attract attention? Do you conduct any ‘last chance’ checks before getting into the cockpit (such as chocks, towbar, tie-downs, earthing cables removed as appropriate)? Were there any other people who might have noticed the towbar as they taxied out? It’s easy to be clever in hindsight, but just a few seconds pause to stand back and think before getting in the cockpit can be worthwhile.

Accepting that aircraft might have tow-bars left on them if they are simply being manoeuvred out of the way and not intended to be flown, there is much to be said for the practice of ensuring that tow-bars should never be left connected to aircraft and unattended once the aircraft is out of the hangar and positioned in the desired place pre-flight. Good advice is that once your hand has touched a tow-bar that will be attached to an aircraft going to fly then your hand should not leave it until the tow-bar is replaced in its storage location (ideally a shadow board) after use. AAIB accident report G-SAJK/G-CDMH reflected similar circumstances and has useful associated lessons regarding improving the visibility of GA ground equipment that would be worth reviewing, and the associated Clued-Up article from the CAA about towbar colours is also an interesting read. Another AAIB report about towbars being left connected refers to one involving C172 G-BGIY and is also relevant. The QR codes give links to the associated articles.

Lastly, remember that incidents involving things falling off aircraft are subject to mandatory occurrence reporting (MOR) requirements as stated in IR 2015/1018 and accessed using the CAA Occurrence reporting portal via ECCAIRS2. If you’re involved in a similar incident then don’t forget to MOR it.