Before You Fly: Preflight, Taxi, and the Checklist Religion (AFH Ch. 2)

Everybody wants Chapter Three — the flying part. Nobody makes a movie about the walk-around. But the FAA Airplane Flying Handbook opens Chapter 2 with a hard number: the NTSB has attributed roughly 85 percent of accidents to "failure of the pilot to" — and almost all of that identifying and deciding happens on the ground, before the key ever turns. Maya and Rico take Ground Operations top to bottom: what "airworthy" legally means and who's on the hook for it, the inspection deadlines that show up on every checkride, the preflight visual inspection, risk and resource management, and the taxi, before-takeoff check, and shutdown that bookend every safe flight. In this episode What "airworthy" actually means — conforms to type design AND in condition for safe operation — and why the pilot in command, not the mechanic, owns the go/no-go. The inspection calendar you have to know: annual (12 calendar months), 100-hour (for hire), transponder and static/encoder (24 months), VOR check (30 days, IFR), and the ELT. Reading the paperwork: required certificates aboard the aircraft, operating limitations, and how inoperative equipment is handled. The preflight visual inspection, top to bottom — including fuel sumping and why water settles at the low point of the system. Risk management and resource management: the 85-percent statistic, expectation bias, and why the reverent pilots are the old pilots. Taxi technique, the before-takeoff check, and a proper shutdown — the checklist religion that closes out the ground phase. Sources This episode teaches the FAA Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Chapter 2 — Ground Operations. Regulations and references cited on-air: 14 CFR Part 3, §3.5(a) (definition of "airworthy"); 14 CFR §91.7(a)(b) (airworthy condition; PIC responsibility for safe flight); 14 CFR §91.409(a) (annual inspection, 12 calendar months); 14 CFR §91.409(b) (100-hour inspection, for hire); 14 CFR §91.413 (transponder certification, 24 calendar months); 14 CFR §91.411 (static system/encoder certification, 24 calendar months, IFR in controlled airspace); 14 CFR §91.171 (VOR equipment check, 30 days, IFR); 14 CFR §91.207(c)(d) (ELT inspection and battery); 14 CFR §91.417 (life-limited parts, ADs, Form 337 records); 14 CFR §91.213 (inoperative equipment); 14 CFR §91.203 (Airworthiness and Registration Certificates aboard); 14 CFR §91.9 (operating limitations — AFM/POH, placards, markings); 14 CFR Part 45, §45.11 (external data plate); and the FCC radio station license rule (international / over 12,500 lb). Also referenced: the Risk Management Handbook (FAA-H-8083-2), the Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM), and Advisory Circular 00-34. Current as of July 2026. Maya and Rico are AI-generated hosts. Episodes are produced from official FAA public-domain source material. Education and entertainment only — not flight instruction; always consult your CFI and the current FAR/AIM.