Flight Training: Forgetting to Fly the Plane on Final Approach

Hello All:

I figured I would share a little story that just happened last night.


I was on a night cross country with one of my students last night from Falcon Field to Wickenberg, AZ We left falcon field and headed out toward Scottsdale Airport. A little while went by and my student decided to turn the landing light off since we were out of Falcon Fields Airspace. The plane has strobes and a beacon so I had no problem with that.


So we get over wickenberg and enter Downwind. The student does his landing check but forgets to turn the landing light on. So we are on final approach and he still doesn't notice. About the time we cross the threshhold, the student decides to forget about his #1 Job at this time " Fly the airplane". He decides to look into the cockpit and try and find the landing light switch [:O]


I try not to grab the controls from student but every once in a while I have to " I like happy hours" So I ended up leveling the plane off.


This just shows you how a simple thing like a landing light switch can get you in big trouble if you stop flying the airplane. So if you find yourself forgetting something, just go around and fix the problem. Once you turn final you should be focusing outside the airplane. I quick glance at the airspeed indicator is all you need.

Hope to See you in the Sky


Airfreddy


Airfreddy's Private Pilot License Information Website


Arizona Flight Training and Instruction