Stupid CFI mistakes

Ian_J

Ian_J

Hubschrauber Flieger
Staff member
So I feel like an idiot. Yesterday I was taking up a student for his second flight and as we were getting ready to start the airplane (a 150) we noticed the ICS was not working. Now, this is an OLD plane and the jacks are actually behind the seats on the floor. I've flown that particular one a few times, but never needed to adjust the squelch or ICS volume before. So I search and search everywhere for the ICS switch, volume, squelch, whatever - and can't find it. I am very frustrated at this point and convince myself that for some reason, that plane just didn't have an ICS switch. So I get out, go inside, find the owner/ chief mechanic, and ask him to take a look. There were about 4 other instructors in there who heard my predicament too. The owner comes out to the plane, and FLIPS THE ICS SWITCH RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PANEL! Argh! How could I be so blind! I mean, it wasn't even in a weird place or anything! For some reason, I just didn't see it no matter how hard I searched. So I'm sure when he went back in he and all the other instructors had a good laugh about how the new CFI can't even work an ICS. Geesh. And even worse, my student tells me he saw the switch, wondered if that was it, but didn't ask because he assumed I knew what I was doing. How crappy do I feel now! :( AT least the flight went great and my student made his first ever unassisted landing.

So... anyone else out there make a stupid mistake as a CFI? (And really, I just need to feel better about myself at this point!)
 
lol. thats funny. one time I didnt notice that the volume on com 1 had been turned all the way down. Tried calling ground about 3 times until I noticed the R on com 1 and realized that I just needed some volume :) Ground control was a little pissy, so i just told them that sometimes it's better to not let the instructor use the radios and they got a kick out of it.
 
Once, I couldnt find the headphone jacks on the C150 I was supposed to take a student in. I hadn't flown the 150 in about a year - they were located on the wall behind the seats.

Made me look like an idiot, but at least the flight went well!
 
Last week I flew w/ a student twice around the traffic pattern on the friggin' fuel frequency instead of the CTAF. I was more upset with the fact that it was really dangerous than the fact that the dispatch worker sat in the office listening to it without calling up and correcting me.

Don't worry...we could all probably collaborate on a book and then cash in on the royalties and eat something besides ramen.
 
One of my most embarrassing moments as a CFI came when my first student to get signed off for anything went for his checkride. It was a student from another instructor who had failed his private checkride a few weeks before, then came to me for retraining. We did a few lessons, his flying looked great (nerves busted him the first time), scheduled the retest, and filled out a new 8710. The retest was on a Friday afternoon and I had to leave for the weekend to attend my brother's college graduation across the country.

That night I called up the student to see how things had gone. He passed, but it had been a big hassle. I completely forgot to endorse his logbook! I don't know what I was thinking. I had signed the 8710, but nothing in his logbook. Thankfully the examiner had let him go around the pattern once with another CFI who then endorsed the logbook. I apologized profusely to the student, then called the examiner to apologize, then apologized to my boss when I got back, and it was all good. I've been physically present at every checkride since then, no matter what.

There have been plenty of other screw ups in my year of instructing (most involving misprogrammed avionics or botched demos of some sort), but I don't want to get in to that ;)

Let's just say, if forgetting to turn an intercom on is the worst thing you ever do, you'll be way ahead of most of us!
 
1) During multi training I guarded the wrong rudder when I gave an engine failure and the student stepped on the wrong rudder. Fun times..

2) During instrument training I cancelled IFR with approach and forgot to squawk 1200 until advised to do so by the tower...doh!

3) During instrument training approach forgot to hand us off to tower, I didn't catch it as the student was botching the approach royally, and we ended up calling the missed to approach control...oops.

4) Was instructed by tower to enter right traffic but instead we entered...you get the picture :)

Don't worry dude - We're all human.
 
I was on a night flight last week departing from our class C, going to an uncontrolled airport for a landing and returning. This was a demo flight so the person's first time in a small airplane (usually I don't like demos at night because I want them to see everything but she wanted a sunset view so I obliged). Everything went fine until I tried to check back in to the class C, got a squawk code and didn't hear anything from approach that they had me on radar. They finally called up and told me they couldn't see me and that my transponder must not be on. I got a little talking to about how it needs to be in the 'alt' position. I still don't know how it got there since it was fine on departure . . . . gremlins!!!

We are humans and miscues happen, just don't ever tell your students you are perfect :)
 
ChinookDriver said:
So... anyone else out there make a stupid mistake as a CFI? (And really, I just need to feel better about myself at this point!)
Click to expand...

Yes, from day 1, and still going.....

:o)
 
Had a similar experience to one above with a student and the transponder not working in the "off" position. Several botched demos, and countless times that I've "instructed" a rule or procedure, and then looked it up in the books to find out the student had it right to begin with and I instructed him into doing it wrong....

In all, though, don't worry about it. Just remember that our first job as instructors in NOT to teach the student, it's to make sure that we don't let the student kill himself or anyone else while he's learning to fly. Once that job is well taken care of, then we worry about filling Stanley's head with all of the right knowledge and techniques. If you were keeping him safe the whole time, but you missed something minor like not being able to find the ICS switch, you were still doing ok.
 
Thanks guys... I know that after it happened I beat myself way too much up over it. Really, its just an ICS switch. Good to know that this stuff happens to everyone. When they say people learn more their 1st 100 hours as a CFI than their 1st hundred hours period, they weren't kidding. I find myself hitting the book a whole bunch more now just so I am 100% sure I have my stuff straight.
 
MSNFlyer said:
We are humans and miscues happen, just don't ever tell your students you are perfect :)
Click to expand...


I don't know what you're talking about man, I know I'm a perfect instructor; I don't make mistakes, I "present learning opportunities to my students". ;)

Here's a good such learning opportunity, to make the original poster feel a lil better. Was ferrying a students Mooney back from Dallas to Charlotte with him. We made a stop in Meridian, MS for fuel, about 10pm. He was flying and he mentioned he always had trouble getting the plane to slow down/come down. So I was doing a lot of coaching, as well as working radios..........we were cleared to land rwy 22, we both agreed we were on a right base for 22, and continued on. After landing, while rolling out, tower asked if we had a problem, I replied "no, why?" and they casually mentioned we just landed on 19. Didn't end up in a violation or anything, but an embarassing and humbling moment none the less. :) Apparently I had just decided we'd picked the right runway, and didn't pay any attention to it beyond that point, as I was wrapped up in helping my student.
 
TaterSalad said:
they casually mentioned we just landed on 19.
Click to expand...

In your defense, from what I recall, 19/1 is REALLY big and 22/4 is pretty small. The approach end of 22 is tucked behind the ANG hanger as well.
 
Texguy said:
Chuck Norris would never make stupid CFI mistakes.
Click to expand...

Naw... he'd use his mad CFI skills to handle the local town's corrupt FAA Inspector.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top