Airmanship
FOD in the Cockpit Can Jam the Controls
A loose item in the cockpit once jammed the flight controls after take-off, forcing a MAYDAY – account for your belongings and check the interior properly.
1 min readKapiti Aero Club safety team
Thoroughly pre-flighting the cockpit really matters – and a real-world example shows why.
A good pre-flight isn't just about finding defects. It's also about accounting for your own belongings and properly checking the aircraft interior.
In a 2025 incident, a loose item in the cockpit jammed the flight controls shortly after take-off, forcing the pilot to declare a MAYDAY and carry out a challenging landing. Read the full story in the CAA Vector article FOD in the cockpit.