The flight instructor was providing multiengine flight instruction to two students who were both pilots, which included simulated engine failures over the course of two flights. The Beech 76 landed at the airport in Pompano Beach, Florida, and the flight instructor told the accident pilot, who had only 2.4 hours experience in the Beech, that he wanted him to practice engine failures in the traffic pattern.
The flight instructor advised the pilot to expect an engine failure during takeoff. While on the right crosswind leg of the airport traffic pattern, about 600′ above ground level, the flight instructor retarded the right engine throttle lever, reducing the right engine power to idle.
The pilot then pressed hard on the right (incorrect) rudder pedal with enough force that it moved the flight instructor’s foot off the left rudder pedal. The airplane immediately rolled violently to the right before the flight instructor took control of the airplane, however the airplane had entered a dive and the flight instructor was unable to recover before the airplane hit a house. All three souls aboard the plane were seriously injured.
The flight instructor is responsible for monitoring the student’s performance providing remedial action immediately if necessary. In this case, the instructor’s delayed remedial action did not allow for recovery before the airplane struck the residence.
Probable cause: The flight instructor’s failure to maintain airplane control while demonstrating a simulated engine failure. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s improper response to the simulated engine failure.
NTSB Identification: ERA16FA170
This April 2016 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.
Trainees tend to Rush to apply rudder without looking at the behaviour and then take control. Instructors tend to leave it too late as well. As an Instructor you should expect mistakes at the begginning therefore be quick to correct and later they will settle down. Interesting most twin engine accidents happen in Training and its instructor errors.
Niko
Obviously an engine will not fail in an inconvenient or dangerous situation. When I was instructing in the Duchess BE 76, I decided that I did not want one of my students having their first engine failure at midnight with their wife and kids in the plane.
So I taught and did actual mixture cut engine failure on take-off at 50 feet [carefully, not a surprise. ldg CB pulled before take-off.] The critical point is pitch from climb down immediately and land.
The point is training doesn’t mean you surprise a student, but educate them.
I was at a Flight Instructor’s refresher’s cours some years ago. The lead instructor was talking about twin engine aircraft and engine out procedures. He said, when doing a engine out procedure HE told his check pilot / instructor that he should NOT attempt an engine out procedure while on final approach to land. In fact he said, IF YOU CUT ONE OF MY ENGINES, I’M GOING TO CUT THE OTHER ENGINE! I am surprised that engine out procedure on final approach is still required! About 10 yrs ago, a pilot of a twin engine A/C lost one engine on take off and apparently didn’t know what to do – as the A/C crashed and he did not survive. Any engine out procedures should be practice at altitude.
Testing with one engine inoperative is required by the FAA on the checkride for all phases of flight – takeoff roll, initial climb, cruise, approach and landing. So that requires one engine inoperative training in all phases of flight. How could it not – an engine can potentially fail at any time. And obviously any responsible multi-engine pilot would want to be ready for an engine problem, especially one at lower altitudes.
Not sure if it applies in this case, but when I first began flight instructing in taildraggers I quickly learned that your typical business shoe with leather soles, could be a problem when the student did something unexpected.
hello!!! engine failures are to be practiced at a “zero thrust” setting simulating a feathered propellor, not idle…..
Would it have mattered?
That’s primarily to simulate performance with a feathered engine. The simulated failure itself can be anything from a gradual to a more aggressive reduction in power for training purposes to simulate the range of failures which could happen in an actual failure.