1st Failure
#1
1st Failure
Seven years as a flight instructor and I experienced my first failure as the recommending instructor. I never boasted about never having a student fail. Now I feel I can. I discretely told my follow instructors about this being my first today in our meeting. Makes me feel human again and a big weight off my shoulders. Hopefully this isn't a trend to come. Shouldn't be. The student today missed a step down fix on a RNAV and went to MDA 0.5 too soon. Easy fix. No pun intended.
#4
Seven years as a flight instructor and I experienced my first failure as the recommending instructor. I never boasted about never having a student fail. Now I feel I can. I discretely told my follow instructors about this being my first today in our meeting. Makes me feel human again and a big weight off my shoulders. Hopefully this isn't a trend to come. Shouldn't be. The student today missed a step down fix on a RNAV and went to MDA 0.5 too soon. Easy fix. No pun intended.
I'm glad it's a weight off your shoulders, no instructor should be the end all of knowledge and every human being can learn from others, so you will learn from this.
It's also important to realize the student's perspective during a checkride. Human nature and defense mechanisms will make it so they'll remember some arbitrary reason that they failed, whereas whomever is conducting the check may have very good reasons and grounds for failing them. Don't discount student's testimony, but realize they are human and may have made a mistake, even if they can't admit it at the time. That's really the point, everyone makes mistakes, and hopefully we train and prepare enough to minimize them, but they never go away completely.
#5
Seven years as a flight instructor and I experienced my first failure as the recommending instructor. I never boasted about never having a student fail. Now I feel I can. I discretely told my follow instructors about this being my first today in our meeting. Makes me feel human again and a big weight off my shoulders. Hopefully this isn't a trend to come. Shouldn't be. The student today missed a step down fix on a RNAV and went to MDA 0.5 too soon. Easy fix. No pun intended.
#6
Thank you. Reading a lot about PTS and that is great. That was the reason for my success rate; only using the PTS as a midway there point. The PTS only teaches someone how to pass a checkride. As instructors we do a huge disservice if that is all the further we train.
#7
#8
At the airport I taught at, few instructors, except me, would send their students to a particular examiner because of his high failure rate. I don't think this examiner, or any examiner actually "likes" to fail anyone. They just need to be given a reason.
All checkrides are, in a way, an examination of recommending instructors. As a result, I always wanted my students preparation to speak for itself.
Still, stuff happens.
I would be remiss if I didn't share that I too, even after decades of flying, have misinterpreted step downs on a non-precision approach and commenced a descent too soon.
#9
#10
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Nov 2012
Position: 737 FO
Posts: 880
Imagine teaching foreign students, especially the Chinese. Doesn't matter to them if they pass or fail. They go back home and have a squeaky clean record with no failures. I have heard and witnessed some that would bust the all their checkrides.
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hurricanechaser
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11-30-2011 06:39 AM