Risk management advice please.

[esa17]

I have a new (to me) student at work and she has a fairly checkered history. She had more than 70 hours before she soloed flying with several acquaintances of mine who are fine instructors. When I spoke to them about her they asked me to take out a life insurance policy and name them as the beneficiaries. I found out today that she landed so hard on her solo that the planes nose gear collapsed and the plane ended up in the grass. The uniformed school she was flying at has since changed its policies on solo students and told her to take her business elsewhere.

Knowing what I know about this student from my own personal experiences in class I don't want to put my name in her logbook because I think she'll end up doing the same thing. I want no part of that. I've spoken to my boss about her and the powers at be have said they'll have a meeting about her but I'm going to have to be the one to tell her. Does anyone else have any experience with this type of thing?

[mojo6911]

At some point, your liability ends. If you cover all of the required training and have a paper trail to back it up, you will be fine as far as the FAA is concerned. As far as civil liability, do you have any assets? If so, it may be best to get some insurance.

Soloing a student is part of the game, but don't put yourself into harm's way by taking on a student like this. Some people weren't meant to fly.

[moxiepilot]

First, have you flown with her?

I've flown with post incident students, and you really need to start at square 1.

You will be liable if you do not cover the 15 parts required by the regs and the endorsements; but, if you cover them she either:

1. will be able to solo
2. will not be able to solo

So why don't you see it as an opportunity to make some money and maybe even learn a few new tricks to teach students who need some extra handholding?

[MikeOH58]

I have no doubt your friends that were her former teachers were good instructors, but maybe they just weren't a right fit for her? Tough situation, but i'd say that you should atleast sit down with her, talk about her past training and the defencies she was experiencing, not only on her end, but what she felt was contributing to those defencies instructional wise...If you decide to take her on, start from square one...At least that what I would do in the situation...

Like I said, maybe the instructors she previously had weren't a good match, and you could be the perfect fit to the problem?

For what its worth, I have a friend who ground looped an airplane his first solo, and is now an excellent instructor with a 100% pass rate with over 20 students...

[exleardriver]

honestly, in many ways, these are the kind of students i like to get...if they are really trying and there's just some critical piece of the puzzle missing and they just need fresh perspective, etc. i get handed the 'trouble students' at my airport most of the time. and the head safety inspector for our local fsdo contacts me to do remedial training for folks who've either had an accident/incident or some violation that merits a future re-certification ride since they've had their license held temporarily. you can learn a lot from a students who themselves have something else important to learn.

my $.02..

[esa17]

I appreciate the advice guys, I have met with this girl at the flight school several times but she always has some sort of excuse for this or that. I've taken several college (all aviation related) courses with her and I guess thats the biggest part of my anxiety. She just isn't all there. I want to be able to help her but at the same time I don't want to take her money. Its not fair to her and its not right for me as a person to do. I'll fly with here but we're starting from lesson one and and she will master crawling before she can even think about walking.

Oh, last week she totaled her car when she hit a traffic pole....In the dead side of a T intersection.


:gulp:

[tgrayson]

Originally Posted by esa17

I'll fly with here but we're starting from lesson one and and she will master crawling before she can even think about walking.

The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior.

[USMCmech]

Originally Posted by esa17

She just isn't all there.

Oh, last week she totaled her car when she hit a traffic pole....In the dead side of a T intersection.

I think you have your answer.


Flying isn't for everyone.

[WAFlyBoy]

Originally Posted by esa17

I've taken several college (all aviation related) courses with her and I guess thats the biggest part of my anxiety. She just isn't all there.

At this point in her training/career, I would guess that she should be about as motivated to learn as she'll ever be. If that's a problem for her, perhaps it's time to find out why she wants to pursue this choice of career.

When it comes to instructing, I believe that any student who wants to succeed as a pilot can. But if the student isn't motivated to learn the trade, it's likely going to a waste of everybody's time.