Distracted or drugged?
I need some advice regarding the primary student of a fellow instructor. To say that this student has been a challenge for the instructor is an understatement. Despite being shown each maneuver numerous times, he just doesn't seem to remember the majority of them.
For instance, when asked to do some steep turns, he will bank the airplane at 30 degrees and make two 90-degree turns. His normal, short-field, and soft-field landings look identical. Although he seems to understand the maneuvers in the classroom and can explain each one, it is a different story in the airplane. Making matters worse, he is extremely impatient. He doesn't understand why he needs to show the instructor a maneuver when he did it months ago for another instructor (the current instructor inherited this student when he had about 50 hours).
In the past month, he appeared to make some major progress and was able to perform the maneuvers to PTS minimums. As a result, he was signed off for the practical test, but he failed. According to the examiner, the student had to be told to go around on short final at a nontowered field because there was a jet sitting on the runway. When asked if he saw the jet, the student said yes, and continued on final in an attempt to land. The examiner, who is also a physician, believes that there is a good chance that this student has a learning disability.
Yesterday, the instructor and student went to a nontowered field that has a runway configuration of 12-30. Even after listening to the AWOS (winds were out of the northwest) and CTAF, where two other aircraft in the pattern were announcing and using Runway 30, the student not only attempted to enter traffic for Runway 12 (with one airplane on upwind for 30), but he entered a right-hand traffic pattern (all patterns are left at this airport). This shouldn't be happening at 80 hours of flight time.
Now for the really scary part. He has purchased a Piper Arrow and plans to fly all over the country on business as soon as he passes his checkride. He is extremely busy with work, and in the instructor's opinion, he probably doesn't begin thinking about the lesson at hand until he walks through the door at the flight school.
Based on what I've seen and what the instructor has told me, I don't think he has any business being in the air. What scares me the most is that he doesn't think he's doing a bad job. Add to this his personality trait of being impatient, and you can see why I am so concerned. What would you suggest?
Thank you,
Jesse
Greetings Jesse:
This is certainly a challenging problem. For clarity, let me address the situation as if we're talking about your student. If I had to guess at the source of the problem, I might suspect that this student is too distracted to learn (not likely, however), or is taking some type of drug that affects his ability to learn (more likely), or is incapable of learning to the degree necessary to be a safe pilot (much more likely, in my opinion).
For starters, it's quite possible that a pilot could be taking medication that the FAA and the student's aviation medical examiner know nothing about. There are many types of prescription and over-the-counter drugs that could create the training problems you mentioned here.
If this were my student, I'd sit him down and tell him honestly about my observations. Then I'd query him about possible drug use. If he admits to using drugs that the FAA knows nothing about, then I'd have no choice but to furlough him unless he'd be willing to work with his AME regarding their use.
On the other hand, given the degree of training difficulty experienced here, this person could have a variety of psychological and/or physiological conditions, perhaps even the early onset of Alzheimer's disease. If he doesn't admit to drug use, I'd be inclined to insist that he have a full mental and physical evaluation by an AME who's apprised of the issues (by the instructor) before I'd continue his flight instruction. No clearance or no cooperation means no more training. This would be the best route to protect your empennage, the student's life (and the lives of his likely passengers, too), the flight school, and the rest of the flying world, in my opinion.
If there's no physical or psychological problem here, then you still have to contend with the issue of standards. Every instructor has a set of performance standards he expects his students to meet. There's always a bit of leeway in how the student meets those standards, but the standards should always be clear in the instructor's mind. In making a decision about this student you've got to ask yourself whether or not you think the student is meeting or moving closer to meeting those standards.
In the process of his flight training, this student should also demonstrate an increasing level of common sense about general airmanship. When a student on his checkride says he sees a jet parked in position on the runway, he shouldn't attempt to land over it. This doesn't demonstrate a normal capacity for common sense. Based on what you've written, it seems clear that this student hasn't met the basic standards of airmanship, nor is he moving closer to meeting them. Therefore, I suggest you have a serious talk with him about this and offer him a chance to redeem himself. Tell him that on the next few flights you'll be evaluating his performance to see if he meets the flight standards for a pilot at his specific level of experience. Now he'll know he's being put on the spot. Tell him that you're evaluating his performance to see if he's indeed just distracted or if he has some form of learning disability. If his learning difficulty stems only from being distracted with home or work activities, then he's likely to buck up and do better (assuming he's motivated to fly). If he doesn't meet your standards, then at least you've given him a chance to do the best he can. In this way you place the burden of performance on his back. It's up to him to meet or fail to meet your objective assessment of his flying skills.
One final note: Until you come to terms with his problem, I suggest that you have nothing to do with his newly purchased airplane. The last thing you want to do is fly in his Piper Arrow, which might lead him to think he can fly without your permission, supervision, or even without having a private pilot certificate.
Rod Machado is a flight instructor, author, educator, and speaker. A pilot since 1970 and a CFI since 1974, he has flown more than 8,000 hours and owns a Beech A36 Bonanza. Visit his Web site.
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