CFI-to-CFI Newsletter - Volume 11 Issue 2 - 6

I'M STANDING ON THE GRASS NEXT TO
THE TAXIWAY, EXCITEDLY CLUTCHING MY
HANDHELD VHF RADIO WHILE KEEPING MY
EYES GLUED TO THE SKY. I'm on the lookout for

other traffic, birds, and anything else that may
get in our way. I have just signed off my very
first solo student, Andy, and am watching him
intently from the sidelines.

Like any new instructor, signing off your first
solo is a big milestone. Fortunately, Andy was
the ideal student. Not only was he a natural
stick-and-rudder pilot, but he was equally
inquisitive, passionate, and eager to learn. I had
every confidence in the world that Andy would
do a fine job on his first solo.
The sky is clear, winds are calm, and Andy is
ready to fly his Cessna 172. He lines up on the
runway, pushes in the throttle, and off he goes-
performing a flawless first solo takeoff and lap
around the pattern. He turns final, stabilized,

and greases it back onto the runway. Full-stop,
taxi back, and he's ready to fly again-wash,
rinse, repeat.
Now onto the second takeoff. Again, he lines
up on the runway, pushes in the throttle, and
accelerates. "So far so good," I briefly think to
myself. But then silence unexpectedly fills the air
as the buzz of the engine at full power suddenly
becomes an idle hum-he just rejected the
takeoff. Andy's airplane brakes to taxi speed then
clears the runway onto the taxiway. I key my mic
and ask, "Andy, what happened?" and patiently
wait for his response.
While we may think that the takeoff is one of the
easiest maneuvers we do as pilots, accident data
tells us otherwise. In 2016, accidents on takeoff
and climb increased for the first time in three
years to 121 total accidents-of which 24 were
fatal (AOPA Air Safety Institute's 28th Joseph T.
Nall Report). Poor aircraft control on takeoff-

BUT THEN SILENCE UNEXPECTEDLY FILLS THE AIR AS THE BUZZ OF THE
ENGINE AT FULL POWER SUDDENLY BECOMES AN IDLE HUM-HE JUST
REJECTED THE TAKEOFF.

including lack of preflight planning, aircraft
configuration issues, and delays aborting a
takeoff-is the second leading cause of all
accidents in light airplanes.
While instructors commonly teach students
how to manage issues that may arise after
takeoff (such as a door popping open or an engine
failure), we don't spend as much time talking
about managing issues that may occur during
takeoff. Go/no-go decision-making on the takeoff
roll is not a regularly visited topic in the early
stages of flight training. After all, according to
FAR 61.87 - Solo requirements for student pilots,
"rejected takeoffs" is not explicitly listed as an
area that a student is expected to be proficient in
prior to solo.
A rejected takeoff in a single-engine piston
aircraft is not an overwhelmingly complex
maneuver by any means, but there is far more
preparation and finesse to it than just ripping
out the throttle and standing on the brakes.
Learning how to safely perform a rejected
takeoff should involve careful preflight planning
and practice under the supervision of an
instructor (see sidebar: Takeoffs and Landings-
Determining an Abort Point).
CFI-to-CFI Newsletter - Volume 11 Issue 2

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