Don't touch the pedals!

We've all seen the video of the tragic medical flight that ended in a crash at the end of the runway into a hotel.  Some speculate that (among other things; W&B) the woman riding with her sick son inadvertently caused the crash by messing with the rudder pedals.  We're not going to re-hash that today, but we are going to talk about a few things you might need to consider when briefing your passengers.

First, you should realize that your passengers aren't accustomed to riding in a plane's cockpit.  The comforting feeling and homely qualities of your plane's cockpit are lost on them; to them, it's completely new.  They aren't use to having a full set of controls in front of them and the sea of gauges and switches is enough to confuse anybody. I always let them know that those controls in front of them are for show and not to be touched at all.

Furthermore, remind them that there are controls they may not realize they are messing with.  The rudder pedals are easy to rest your feet on without knowing it.  Some people even think if they rest their feet on the pedals and follow through, it won't matter.  I once had a tall passenger with me who did just that thinking the weight of his feet wasn't enough to affect them.  While taxiing, I noticed the plane kept pulling to the right; opposite of what is normal.  I glanced over and sure enough, he had his right foot 'resting' on the toe brake.

Last, but certainly not least, make sure your passengers' belongings don't interfere with anything.  A shoulder strap on a purse can easily get caught on a handle and next thing you know, the engine quits because you've been running on just the right tank instead of both.  Small things like camera bags can catch fuel shutoff valves and alternate static ports.

The main idea here is that you want to secure your cockpit.