✈️ Aviation Brief — Issue #70
Weekly insights for student pilots and the instructors who train them.
THIS WEEK'S TOPIC
IA.VI.A — Postflight Procedures (Instrument Rating ACS)
1. ACS STANDARDS SUMMARY
The Instrument ACS (IA.VI.A) requires the applicant to demonstrate safe after-landing, parking, and securing procedures. The examiner expects the pilot to use the appropriate checklists, taxi to the parking spot without incident, set the parking brake or chocks, shut down the engine and avionics in the correct sequence, secure the aircraft (control lock, pitot cover, tie-downs), and conduct a postflight inspection while noting any discrepancies for the maintenance log.
2. THREE COMMON STUDENT MISTAKES
- Rushing the shutdown checklist and leaving the battery or avionics master on, which drains the battery overnight.
- Skipping a walk-around inspection after shutdown and missing simple issues such as a loose fuel cap, tire damage, or control-surface impact marks.
- Failing to write up squawks in the aircraft discrepancy log, assuming “someone else will notice it later.”
3. CFI PRO TIP
Have the student physically touch each item on the shutdown checklist (master switch, fuel selector, throttle, mixture) while saying the action aloud. This tactile-verbal habit breaks the autopilot rush that often occurs once the engine is off and dramatically reduces missed items on both training flights and checkrides.
4. SAFETY SPOTLIGHT
Several ASRS reports describe Cessna 172s that rolled into other aircraft after shutdown because the parking brake was not set and wheel chocks were not used. In one 2022 incident, a gusty day at a Class D airport moved an unsecured 172 several feet into a neighboring airplane; the pilot had completed the checklist but skipped the final “chocks and tie-downs” step.
5. DID YOU KNOW
Any discrepancy discovered during the postflight inspection must be recorded in the aircraft maintenance records before the next flight (14 CFR 91.403), even if the item seems minor.
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