INSTRUCTOR REPORT A good instructor is always learning INSTRUCTOR REPORT offers insights for students and tips for CFIs. FLIGHT INSTRUCTORS IN THE HOT SEAT Don’t compromise your judgment » By J.J. O’Neill Jr. FIRE IN THE COCKPIT: ASI REAL PILOT STORY Talk about a distraction! The Air Safety Institute's Real Pilot Stories series features the true story of flight instructor Jade Schiewe in a training flight that becomes a struggle for survival (http:// flash.aopa.org/asf/pilotstories/fireinthe cockpit). THE WHOLE IDEA of flying with a flight instructor is to gain knowledge and experience—safely. Generally this is the case, but every so often instructor inattention and distraction lead instead to misfortune. Yes, it’s true; recent studies confirm that CFIs are often involved in training accidents—accounting for something like 10 percent overall. On top of that there are innumerable unreported or underreported incidents. Take, for example, the following excerpted text from an ASRS report: “We took off on Runway 24 instead of 30, as the tower subsequently informed us. As I reviewed the event later, with my student and in my own mind, I realized how I may have added to the uncertainty. I was busy pointing out airport markings and critiquing the flight to this point. The priority should have been communications with the tower and standard procedure.” Flight instructors face special challenges as they strive to incorporate flight training into the hectic beehive of the airspace system while maintaining a measure of situational awareness. It’s not an easy job, tackling all levels of learn- AUGUST 2012 FLIGHT TRAINING / 53http://flash.aopa.org/asf/pilotstories/fireinthecockpit http://flash.aopa.org/asf/pilotstories/fireinthecockpit http://flash.aopa.org/asf/pilotstories/fireinthecockpit