The afternoon sun was sweltering as the passengers arrived. Several were new to the airplane and uncomfortable in small jets. Boarding completed, the right engine was started, and soon the air-conditioning system was cooling things off. On this Citation, the initial checklist is fairly lengthy. It took several minutes for the second engine starter to engage. Simultaneously, a nervous passenger in the cabin yelled if it was okay to change seats. Then, the front-seat passenger mentioned that their headset was not working.
On this day, everyone and everything needed the pilot’s complete attention.
“November three nine six delta mike, wind three one zero at fourteen gusting to twenty-five, right turn zero nine zero, climb and maintain two thousand, cleared for takeoff three one,” were the instructions from the tower.
As the airplane neared the hold short line, all hell broke loose. The three large PFD screens started flickering. Audible warning tones blared through the overhead speakers and headsets. Red and yellow messages flashed with an intensity the pilot had never seen before.
“Tower, I think we need to taxi back to the ramp and sort out some issues,” the pilot told the controller.
Then, all the displays went blank, and it got very quiet. Except for the rumble of both engines. As the passengers exited onto the ramp after engine shutdown, one yelled, “Why is this engine still running?”
All of this confusion and over $10,000 in repairs were caused by one tiny white light. The starter for the left engine remained engaged and continued demanding huge amps from the battery until none were left.
That’s when it got quiet and dark.
During training, we are continuously reminded to watch for red and yellow messages, normally glaring right in front of us. But the little white ones can be important too. In this Citation, only a dimly backlit starter light, buried on a pedestal by the pilot’s knees, would have indicated that the starter was stuck on. That, and another tiny white “boost pump” light that remained on well after it should have extinguished.
These pesky little white lights tell an important story about what is happening to the airplane. It’s easy to overlook them, especially during busy moments.
In most pressurized airplanes, we must verify system operation by making sure that the cabin is indeed pressurizing. No big lights to tell us anything. Just a subtle, tiny light buried in a stack of others. And if you miss that tiny light during your after-take-off checklist, the next time you will notice it is after the cabin exceeds a critical altitude, normally 10,000 feet. In a jet, climbing at 5,000 fpm, it doesn’t take long. I will never forget sitting on the rear couch of my Falcon 10 one night with Patty, seeing that light illuminate on the master caution warning panel. I moseyed up to the cockpit and mentioned it to the two professional pilots.
Oops.
We all make mistakes. That’s what checklists are for.
Fly safe.
