Originally Posted by
Packrat
SWA might have the correct system. The F/O does the walk the first flight of the day, the ground crews do the rest. I'd guess their ground crews catch more problems than the average F/O who is just going through the motions.
When the F.O. goes out and conducts a walk around after arriving at the aircraft or on a thru flight, I don't think they are "just going through the motions", there is just so much that hasn't happened yet.
The F.O. walks around ignoring open doors, open access panels, attached ground power cords and attached fueling equipment.
The ground crew member at SWA completes the walk around after all aircraft servicing is complete. During this later time frame he/she is able to assess that no damage was inflicted by vehicles in very close proximity to the aircraft and all service doors and access panels are secure before push back begins. It really does work better from a practicality standpoint.