The student pilot reported that the purpose of the flight was to practice takeoffs and landings in the Taylorcraft BC12-D. The flight instructor occupied the right seat, and the student occupied the left seat, which was the only position from which the brakes could be controlled.
The flight was the sixth instructional flight for the student in the airplane (for a total flight time of 5.7 hours) and the first flight during which he occupied the left seat.
The student reported that as he applied engine power to begin a taxi at the airport in Burnet, Texas, the airplane then veered left. As the airplane began to veer, the flight instructor told the student to apply right brake and to retard the engine throttle.
The flight instructor turned the magneto switch off, and the left wing then struck a parked airplane.
If the plane had been equipped with dual brakes, it is possible the flight instructor would have stopped it.
The student stated that he failed to get his right foot from the rudder to the brake in a “timely manner” and that, in his “confusion,” he did not retard the engine throttle.
He added that, during the attempted recovery, it was still hard for him to understand and coordinate the use of the throttle control and control wheel, thinking that the control wheel acted like a car steering wheel in turning the airplane.
The NTSB determined the probable cause as the flight instructor’s failure to adequately supervise the student pilot and his decision to conduct training in an airplane without dual brakes, which resulted in the student pilot’s loss of directional control during initial taxi and subsequent impact with another airplane.
NTSB Identification: CEN14LA446
This August 2014 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.
I started with a 7AC with heel brakes much that of the T craft. Those mechanical brakes are not designed to slow you down, but to hold you for engine run up and stop at the gas pumps or tie down area.
Prudent taxi speeds and controlled roll in for take-offs are done purposely.
I started learning to fly in earnest at age 56. Being an automobile and motorcycle enthusiast from day one, my reactions and reflexes in a moving vehicle are by use of right foot for gas and brake, left for clutch and of course steering wheel for turning. It took much effort and concentration for me to react appropriately in an airplane. At first, ground operations were a complete mess and under pressure I could be relied upon to do the wrong thing. I can easily understand how a fresh student could create the accident described above.
I’m sure my instructor would never have given me the only set of brakes so early on..
Back in the day when the Tcraft was a standard training airplane the situation described was normal and accepted, so what’s changed? Paved taxiways make the airplane more difficult to taxi than grass did but I can’t see how someone with 5 hours of dual from the right seat could still be confused about the way the controls work on the airplane. If the student was that dim the instructor should have known it and never should have put him/her in control of the airplane.
Though it wasn’t mentioned in the report, the student should have been put in the left seat with the airplane stationary, engine not running and then put through a series of simulated taxi situations including takeoff and landing requiring the coordinated use of brakes and rudder controls. No way he should have been put there completely cold.