DUAL INSTRUCTION TEACHES a CFI to expect the unexpected— well, most of it, anyway. You learn to watch and wait, maintaining both the appearance of relaxation and the readiness to seize the controls before your student can put the aircraft into jeopardy. It’s a fine balancing act, one that usually improves with practice. What doesn’t get practiced—indeed, is almost impossible to practice—is that rare situation in which something truly unexpected happens on the instructor’s side. Once in a great while, it’s safest to have the student do all the flying until you can sort things out.
One unfortunate New Jersey instructor got a firsthand look at this while a student demonstrated a soft-field takeoff . As the Cessna 172’s nose lifted, the CFI’s seat suddenly slid backward and he “instinctively” grabbed the yoke, causing the airplane to ground loop, hit a rut in the grass, and flip inverted. Afterward, investigators found that the seat rails were worn beyond service limits despite a logbook entry indicating compliance with the relevant AD.
A Colorado instructor (also in a 172) had her seat break loose at rotation during a touch and go. She lost her grip on the flight controls and the airplane veered left, hit the ground, and crossed almost 800 feet of grass before hitting two parked airplanes. A seat pin had been installed backwards.
Of course, those seats never should have moved, but they did. Once that happened, incredibly quick and flexible thinking was required to avoid an accident. The first instructor was in a better position, since his student was already flying the airplane. Suppressing the instinct to grab something while sliding backward would have been very, very difficult—but if he’d managed it, the student could have leveled off at a safe altitude before they started troubleshooting. The second might not have been able to do much more than yell, “Power to idle!” unless the student was already backing her on the controls.
Sliding seats aren’t the only situation in which a student might have to take charge. A CFI who feels sick, gets dizzy, or suffers unexpected visual problems—because of a ground-based laser, for example—should consider moving to a purely managerial role. Even a presolo student may be a better stick than an instructor who’s woozy, blind, or can’t reach the controls.
Related Articles
