The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the general aviation (GA) community’s national and FlySafe campaign helps educate GA pilots about safety, including loss of control, power plant failure and controlled flight into terrain.

This series will show you how you can incorporate safety into every flight. This month’s topic is the importance of performing advanced preflight after maintenance.

The General Aviation Joint Steering Committee (GAJSC) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have determined that a significant number of general aviation fatalities could be avoided if pilots were to conduct more thorough preflight inspections of aircraft that have just been returned to service. In-flight emergencies have been the direct result of maintenance personnel who have serviced or installed systems incorrectly. In many cases, although the maintenance personnel made the initial mistake, the pilot could have prevented the accident by performing a thorough or advanced preflight check.