Flight Lesson: Taking responsibility
A rusty pilot is more than a little out of touch
Top: Alex Williamson; sidebar: Steve Karp
What Happened
I told the pilot he was flying like a student who needed more instruction.
Rusty Pilots
Getting back into the cockpit
No checkride, but some training required
Pilots who have been out of the cockpit awhile don’t need to take another checkride to resume flying as pilot in command. They can complete ground and flight training with an instructor to meet the requirements of a flight review—but keep in mind that after an absence, the minimum hour requirements might not be enough to regain proficiency. A CFI can help target areas of rust and you can become a safe and proficient pilot once again.
I told the pilot to plan a flight from the Scottsdale Airport (SDL) to Falcon Field (FFZ) in Mesa, about 20 miles away. A few hours later when we met for the flight, I asked him to tell me the direction we would fly to Falcon Field. He pointed to the northeast. Wrong. Falcon Field is southeast of the Scottsdale Airport. I gave him a heading that would take us to Falcon Field, and we had a satisfactory departure in a Cessna 172. En route, I reminded him to listen to the Falcon Field ATIS and we learned they were using Runway 22L and 22R.
As we got closer to the airport, I suggested he contact the tower. We were cleared to enter right base for Runway 22R. We heard no one else in the airport traffic pattern. Shortly thereafter, my left seat pilot reported entering downwind. I, as CFI, let this happen because there was no other traffic in the pattern.
The tower responded with a comment that the instructions were to enter right base and for our flight to continue downwind to the base leg. We were cleared for a touch-and-go landing. Our altitude on base was low, and I asked, “High or low?”
My pilot responded “low” but made no corrective action. After turning final, I asked again, “High or low” and the response was “low.” Again, no corrective action. “Altitude alert” was the next comment from the tower. I instructed the rusty pilot that he needed to add power and climb back up to the glide path. We cleared the airport boundary fence and made a decent touch-and-go landing.
Back on the downwind leg for another touch-and-go landing, I pointed out that we were getting low in the pattern. He did not respond to his landing clearance, and the tower had to call him back.
On base, we were getting low again, and on final, I told him to initiate a go-around and request a departure to the northwest for Scottsdale. He informed the tower of the go-around and requested “radar vectors to Scottsdale.” The tower replied that they did not have radar services and that our airplane was cleared to leave the Falcon Field traffic pattern.
As we were departing 45 degrees off the downwind leg, the tower asked if an instructor was on board. I told him to say no. I had not said a word on the radio, and I did not think this was the time to start. A checkout to fly a rental airplane is a demonstration of competence to act as PIC in a specific make and model airplane. My role was to monitor the pilot’s performance to assure the flight was conducted safely and met the requirements of the federal aviation regulations.
Tower asked the pilot to call after he landed in Scottsdale. The pilot said he had no idea why. I told him he was flying like a student who needed more instruction. That is exactly what happened when he called the tower. We never saw him again.
Pilots need to be honest with themselves and others. This pilot was in a state of denial about his flying ability and as a result was not open to learning. Pilots need to be their own self critic and learn from each flight experience. This want-to-be PIC did not understand his responsibilities and take the necessary action to be safe.
