Ramapriya wrote:
I've done a fair bit of international commuting and have always
noticed the pilots getting dropped close to the airport approximately
45 min or 1 hour prior to takeoff, whereon they simply embark the
plane and get down to business in the cockpit. I've not till date seen
even one pilot actually do a walkaround!

Do commercial passenger airlines have someone other than the pilot
perform the walkaround of the aircraft, if at all? And how important
is the walkaround in commercial jets? I remember reading the accident
investigation report of an Aeroperu 737 crash where it was suggested
that a walkaround may have helped detect the piece of duct tape that
was plastered in the wrong place, blocking the static port...

At most airports I've gone through, unless you were constantly
watching to make sure, it would be easy to miss the pilot's walkaround
from the gate area. However, I have had flights where it was obvious
that someone who looked like he was a pilot (he was wearing an
appropriate-looking uniform), was doing a pretty thorough walkaround.
I've also had a flight where a problem was reported to the captain by
the baggage handler, who had felt a drip where he didn't expect one.

Rich Lemert