Short Final: What To Fail

One sunny afternoon in late Fall, several flight school Skyhawks and a Piper Seminole trainer were making the most of the beautiful VFR day by practicing maneuvers in the “Northeast Practice Area.” All these aircraft were self‑reporting their position and intentions on 122.75 MHz. Heard on frequency:

Seminole (Student): “Northeast Practice, Seminole 123 over Carnation, 3500, partial‑panel single‑engine operations, Northeast.”

Seminole (CFI): “What should I fail?”

Unknown #1: “The Airspeed Indicator.”

Unknown #2: “The Attitude Indicator.”

Unknown #3: “The Left Engine!”

Unknown #4: “The Wing!”

I don’t think I’d want to be that student that afternoon!

Joelle Erickson

Seattle, Washington