Pass With Flying Colors: 8 Reasons You’ll Fail An Aviation Checkride

All aviation schools will always offer you a check ride to ascertain that you’re a certified pilot. This is the final step in aviation education. Many students tend to be nervous. In most cases, you’ll be offered a checklist when your trainers see great potential in you. However, you’ll still find students failing all because of anxiety.

Below are some of the common reasons why most students fail aviation check rides. Ensure that you avoid them. 

1. Showing up Without the Minimum Training

Aircraft navigation is the key here. Ensure that your initial paperwork review meets all requirements because this is where most of your check ride mistakes begin. Your trainer can help you go through different needs that may deprive you of being certified as a pilot. After that, your examiner will review your logbook to ascertain that you met all the requirements that qualify your career. 

2. Showing up With an Aircraft That Is Not Airworthy

Your airplane should be updated with all the required features. Don’t show up with an airplane that’s not airworthy because your examiner won’t use it. If you do, your checkride is likely to be cancelled and postponed to a later date when you have an airplane that’s airworthy. As such, ensure that you have the necessary equipment, including items needed for maintenance like 20W50 aviation oil to guarantee optimal performance and safety.

3. Failing to Use Checklists

These checklists are there for a reason. Failing to use your checklist subjects your examiner in danger for certifying unqualified pilot. It doesn’t matter whether you fly safely or not. Still, your position remains unqualified. This is for your right because you may have that chance to fly once and never get that opportunity after that.

4. Disregarding an Emphasized Area

This area includes things like collision avoidance, favorable exchange of flight controls, wake turbulence avoidance etcetera. These particular emphases will always be given to you at the beginning of every practice session. Make sure that you nurture them as time goes by. It costs you nothing to follow. It’s for your safety.

5. Failing to Recover From a Stall Correctly

If you had problems before recovering stalls, then it would be better than getting help from your instructor before the check rides. Most aircraft accidents are caused by stalls, spins and when one loses control. So, try as much as you can to understand the procedure of stall recovery. The earlier, the better!

6. Failing to Brief Spins and Spin Recoveries Correctly

Your examiner will want to know whether you know what is spin and how you go about recovering it. This is a critical procedure you need to know before a check ride. If you can’t handle either of this, then there’s no point of taking the check ride.

7. Botching the Landing After an Unstable Approach

Generally, many accidents occur during the landing phase of the flight. Here, you’ll have to understand the go-around principle as a safety niche in your checklist. Failing to understand the principle behind this, will always cause these accidents. Make sure you know this well for a perfect landing.

8. Undershooting or Overshooting During a Simulated Emergency Approach

Your examiner will make sure that you at a good position of handling emergencies. So, your examiner will want to see you perform an off-airport landing in cases of life emergencies. Overshooting or undershooting your landing spot will always lead to check ride failures.

Final Thoughts

If you want to be a certified pilot, you’ll have to avoid the above mistakes that can make your check ride a failure.