That was rough...

c172captain

Well-Known Member
Well, I had to tell a student that he wasn't ready for his checkride. I blame myself for telling him that he was and trying to get him prepared on time, but it just wasn't working. His checkride was scheduled on sunday and to make a long story short very short: he's learning new material 4 days before his checkride.

I am not his first instructor, I'm actually about the 7th, but it sucks that I scheduled his checkride based on what I saw from the surface only to find the lack of knowledge once I had begun to review for the checkride. Again, I blame myself. It still sucks though; for both of us.:banghead:
 
Don't beat yourself up over it.... you did a responsible thing not trying to "hope" him through the ride.
 
I don't see what the big deal is. You're the instructor, you know what is right and wrong. Not saying you did, but don't allow a student to manipulate you into feeling bad and doing something you know they aren't ready for. You did the right thing.
 
Sounds like you care, and he should be happy he has you. He will be ready when he is ready.
 
Explain how you could get fired for not signing off a student? Not sure I would want to work at that place?
 
The student was on a strict timeframe; he is leaving for Vietnam for a work-related business trip on Monday. His checkride on the 7th was his last opportunity to get his license before he has to leave (he'll only be gone for about 3 weeks). Because I wouldn't sign him off, he will not be able to get his license before he leaves and now he's extremely upset. He called the flight school in a fit of rage and said he would not be coming back... This resulted in my boss telling me that I am driving away customers and losing the flight school money and have become a liability to the company, thus I must be let go.
 
That is crap. If a student is not ready, he is not ready. If you were fired for not making adequate progress with a student, that's one thing. But even then...you're pretty low time and they should cut you some slack. Fired for not sending a student who isn't ready? Again, CRAP.

If your boss thought this guy should go, he should have signed him off himself. And if it was THAT important that they got him done on timeline, perhaps they should have given him a more experienced instructor (at least, if your profile is relatively up to date). Nothing against you, but getting a student-especially one that's gone through 6 other CFIs already-done on a schedule is a tough task and not something that will be easy for a brand new CFI.
 
That is crap. If a student is not ready, he is not ready. If you were fired for not making adequate progress with a student, that's one thing. But even then...you're pretty low time and they should cut you some slack. Fired for not sending a student who isn't ready? Again, CRAP.

If your boss thought this guy should go, he should have signed him off himself. And if it was THAT important that they got him done on timeline, perhaps they should have given him a more experienced instructor (at least, if your profile is relatively up to date). Nothing against you, but getting a student-especially one that's gone through 6 other CFIs already-done on a schedule is a tough task and not something that will be easy for a brand new CFI.

My profile is not up to date ;) Granted, I still have the relatively low time of only 500hrs with 200 dual given, nothing respectable.
 
Gotcha. Still, crap. That guy coulda signed him off himself if he thought it was such a big deal.
 
The student was on a strict timeframe; he is leaving for Vietnam for a work-related business trip on Monday. His checkride on the 7th was his last opportunity to get his license before he has to leave (he'll only be gone for about 3 weeks). Because I wouldn't sign him off, he will not be able to get his license before he leaves and now he's extremely upset. He called the flight school in a fit of rage and said he would not be coming back... This resulted in my boss telling me that I am driving away customers and losing the flight school money and have become a liability to the company, thus I must be let go.


Trust me, you don't want to work for that place. Walk away and don't ever look back.

It's a shame places like this exist.

The only piece of advice I have for situations like this is to make sure you have very objective reasons for not signing someone off. Always be careful not to simply tell the person he isn't ready, but tell him specifically *why* he isn't ready.

Say something like, "Before I sign somebody off for a checkride, I have to make sure they understand [insert point of concern here]. I'm not able to sign you off because you weren't able to explain [topic] and apply that knowledge to the real world. And this goes deeper than passing or failing a checkride. If you pass the checkride, then [insert scenario of busting airspace, getting in an accident, etc.] because I let you go before you're ready, that's not good for you, me, or anybody. I don't want to see something bad happen to you as a pilot because I didn't do my job by letting you go early."

When you use this format for discussions with both the customer and the boss, I don't see how anyone can criticize you.

Good luck with future employment at better places!
 
I think that flight school did you a favor. Tell anyone the story and I'm sure they ALL will be on your side. Don't sweat it, I couldn't imagine working for someone like that.
 
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