Instructor Report

Flight instructors have a lot on their minds. They have to watch their students while also watching for traffic, keep one eye on airspeed and altitude, and track where the aircraft is and where it’s going—all while trying to teach in the world’s worst classroom and staying (or at least appearing) calm. It seems a little unfair to also expect them to remember tank changes in aircraft that require them. Still, somebody has to.

The past 10 years saw 25 fuel-starvation accidents during fixed-wing dual instruction. That’s only about one every five months, but also 25 too many. A few were caused by inadequate preflight briefings in models whose fuel selectors are difficult to reach or even see from the right seat. A student in a Cherokee 140 switched tanks on final only to have the engine quit. After his instructor handled the forced landing, they realized he’d actually turned the selector valve Off. The same thing happened the year before in a Piper Warrior; investigators found that the lockout button intended to prevent this wasn’t working.

Far more common were flights on which neither student nor CFI even thought about changing tanks until the fan stopped. At low altitude, there’s not much anyone can do except look for the most suitable spot to put it down. But in a surprising number of cases—including a Piper Arrow practicing instrument approaches in North Carolina, another Cherokee 140 in Pennsylvania, and a Cirrus SR22 in Georgia—student and instructor got so wrapped up in executing the emergency landing that even with ample altitude and the time that goes with it, they never thought to try the other tank.

Checklists organized by phase of flight don’t help much. They’ll remind you to change tanks before descending, but probably remain stowed en route. A timer can help, but may be hard to hear through noise-cancelling headsets. Perhaps the best safeguard is to brief students very thoroughly on the fuel system. Have them move the selector through all of its positions on the ground, make sure any safety interlocks do what they should, and establish beyond doubt that it’s never a mistake to ask, “Should we change tanks pretty soon?”

The student won’t be challenging your authority. He or she will be demonstrating the prudence and awareness every aviator needs.

Flight instructors have a lot on their minds. They have to watch their students while also watching for traffic, keep one eye on airspeed and altitude, and track where the aircraft is and where it’s going—all while trying to teach in the world’s worst classroom and staying (or at least appearing) calm. It seems a little unfair to also expect them to remember tank changes in aircraft that require them. Still, somebody has to.

The past 10 years saw 25 fuel-starvation accidents during fixed-wing dual instruction. That’s only about one every five months, but also 25 too many. A few were caused by inadequate preflight briefings in models whose fuel selectors are difficult to reach or even see from the right seat. A student in a Cherokee 140 switched tanks on final only to have the engine quit. After his instructor handled the forced landing, they realized he’d actually turned the selector valve Off. The same thing happened the year before in a Piper Warrior; investigators found that the lockout button intended to prevent this wasn’t working.

Far more common were flights on which neither student nor CFI even thought about changing tanks until the fan stopped. At low altitude, there’s not much anyone can do except look for the most suitable spot to put it down. But in a surprising number of cases—including a Piper Arrow practicing instrument approaches in North Carolina, another Cherokee 140 in Pennsylvania, and a Cirrus SR22 in Georgia—student and instructor got so wrapped up in executing the emergency landing that even with ample altitude and the time that goes with it, they never thought to try the other tank.

Checklists organized by phase of flight don’t help much. They’ll remind you to change tanks before descending, but probably remain stowed en route. A timer can help, but may be hard to hear through noise-cancelling headsets. Perhaps the best safeguard is to brief students very thoroughly on the fuel system. Have them move the selector through all of its positions on the ground, make sure any safety interlocks do what they should, and establish beyond doubt that it’s never a mistake to ask, “Should we change tanks pretty soon?”

The student won’t be challenging your authority. He or she will be demonstrating the prudence and awareness every aviator needs.

Flight instructors have a lot on their minds. They have to watch their students while also watching for traffic, keep one eye on airspeed and altitude, and track where the aircraft is and where it’s going—all while trying to teach in the world’s worst classroom and staying (or at least appearing) calm. It seems a little unfair to also expect them to remember tank changes in aircraft that require them. Still, somebody has to.

The past 10 years saw 25 fuel-starvation accidents during fixed-wing dual instruction. That’s only about one every five months, but also 25 too many. A few were caused by inadequate preflight briefings in models whose fuel selectors are difficult to reach or even see from the right seat. A student in a Cherokee 140 switched tanks on final only to have the engine quit. After his instructor handled the forced landing, they realized he’d actually turned the selector valve Off. The same thing happened the year before in a Piper Warrior; investigators found that the lockout button intended to prevent this wasn’t working.

Far more common were flights on which neither student nor CFI even thought about changing tanks until the fan stopped. At low altitude, there’s not much anyone can do except look for the most suitable spot to put it down. But in a surprising number of cases—including a Piper Arrow practicing instrument approaches in North Carolina, another Cherokee 140 in Pennsylvania, and a Cirrus SR22 in Georgia—student and instructor got so wrapped up in executing the emergency landing that even with ample altitude and the time that goes with it, they never thought to try the other tank.

Checklists organized by phase of flight don’t help much. They’ll remind you to change tanks before descending, but probably remain stowed en route. A timer can help, but may be hard to hear through noise-cancelling headsets. Perhaps the best safeguard is to brief students very thoroughly on the fuel system. Have them move the selector through all of its positions on the ground, make sure any safety interlocks do what they should, and establish beyond doubt that it’s never a mistake to ask, “Should we change tanks pretty soon?”

The student won’t be challenging your authority. He or she will be demonstrating the prudence and awareness every aviator needs.