Gulfstream Captain reported rejecting two take-off attempts. It was subsequently discovered that pitot tube covers had not been removed during the pre-flight walk around.

Narrative

This report is a follow up to a company report submitted on Day 3 regarding a series of events from Day 0 culminating in two aborted take-offs on Day 1. The aborted take-offs were detailed in a company event report submitted Day 2. The aborted take-offs occurred due to a loss of air data to the flight control computers and engine electronic controllers. At the time; I thought the aircraft had a gremlin or data bus problem. The fault cleared when procedures were followed so we tried to take-off twice. When the malfunction repeated; we canceled the flight. Post maintenance inspection revealed no obvious cause of the malfunction. After a few days; a high speed taxi followed by a maintenance evaluation flight were conducted to fully return the aircraft to service. On Day 4 I approached my Chief Pilot about possibly resigning my position. I had cited several external factors in my Day 3 report that I felt created an unsafe work environment on my aircraft account; but I had not left since the company obligated me for the cost of my 61.58 recurrent training when I was hired. On Day 5 the Lead Pilot on my account called to inform me that the Maintenance Tech had managed to get permission to view the airport surveillance video of my pre-flight on Day 1. I was told that we had tried to take-off with two of the four air data probe covers installed. This attempted flight was a 3 hour notice launch to an international destination that I had been pressured into accepting by the owner and the Lead pilot. I was unable to fully participate in the pre-flight since I was working the phone with our international trip planner; the destination handling agent and fielding calls from the owner / Lead pilot. At the time of initial notification of the existence of the video the Lead pilot told me that they observed us try to take-off with two covers installed then there was a gap in video coverage followed by my crew being observed conducting engine ground runs for maintenance troubleshooting with all covers off. The Lead pilot indicated that they were trying to explain how that happened. Since a month and a half had elapsed since the event; I could not clearly recall all of my actions that day; but video doesn't lie. I remembered doing a final walk around after the owner was onboard because I felt like something was out of place or had not been done. I found a storage door improperly closed on the main cabin door but did not notice that two of the pitot covers were still installed. I accepted responsibility for this breach of airmanship with the Lead pilot over the phone. I also communicated to my Chief Pilot; the Chief Pilot and the director of operations on Day 6 alerting them that I had just found out about this mistake; was unaware of this mistake when I wrote my Day 3 report and accepted responsibility for this mistake and the fact that I would learn from it. Shortly after my communication I received a reply from the Chief Pilot that my action to inform pilot leadership of my mistake when I became aware of it was an appropriate response within the company's non-punitive safety culture. 15 minutes after the reply from the Chief Pilot; my Lead pilot called and told me they found the rest of the video. Which showed my copilot do their walk around not removing the upper two covers. Showed me perform a final walk around and secure the storage compartment door. It showed that my copilot replaced the covers after our aborted take-offs. Finally; the video showed me conduct a pre engine run walk around and remove all covers. Mystery solved. Somehow I think the entire video had already been viewed and the company was attempting to buffalo me into staying in my job for fear that they would report me for violating 14 CFR 91.Reflecting on this evolution I should have gone to my copilot and asked them about the open storage door. Since they were a contract pilot I did not want to come off as overbearing. I feel positive that they left it open as a reminder about the two covers. Unless you are about 75 inches tall (my height) you need a small stool to remove the upper covers. The copilot is not that tall. Also I allowed the distractions of a contentious planning process with the owner and the Lead pilot to knock me off my game leading to this malfunction and take-off abort. The fix to this issue is proper oversight of an erratic owner who regards their aircraft as an airborne taxi ride available at a moment's notice. Additionally; the owner believes themselves capable of determining when a trip is executable or not (based on weather and handling considerations) and simply will not take any answer but yes. It is my intention to resign from this company within the next few days and resume my career with a more structured and stable corporate flight department.