My kid asked why I check the same bolt twice and I didn't have a good answer

We were looking at a Cessna 172's landing gear, and she pointed at a nut I'd just torqued and said 'but you already did that one'. Has anyone found a simple way to explain our double-check habit to non-mechanics?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_sage1d ago

My old instructor used to say checking twice is how we talk to the metal. It's not that we don't trust our work, it's that we respect the consequences too much to just assume. I told my niece it's like making sure the front door is locked before you go to bed.

sean_bailey9322h ago

Yeah, and that's why @the_sage's front door thing is everywhere, like double-checking a text before you hit send.

sullivan.quinn1d ago

I mean, "respect the consequences" sounds like fear talking. Sometimes you just gotta trust your gut and move on, or you'll never get anything done.