That's the issue... power loss... what constitutes power loss. Do you shut down at the slightest splutter?
That is a very good question. In the Sheppey Post No 19, he mentions the Winjeel fatality (which happened at Point Cook). Shortly after take off when about 700 feet, the instructor announced to ATC "Simulated engine failure". However the student failed to immediately lower the nose although the aircraft was observed to start a steep turn. Passing through 90 degrees the Winjeel stalled and flicked into an incipient spin.
The instructor presumably took action to recover from the incipient spin as he had the wings levelled shortly before impact but the aircraft hit the airfield at a high rate of descent. The landing gear collapsed, the battery broke free at impact causing arcing and ignited fuel from the fuel tank adjacent to the battery. The aircraft caught fire and the two pilots were unable to open the canopy to get out before being overcome by the flames in the cockpit.
Fire crews were on the scene within two minutes but due to the haste to get foam going, the driver inadvertently selected wrong selections and there was no foam. A fireman who tried to force open the Winjeel canopy was driven back by flames.
While the simulated engine failure by throttle closure started the chain of events in this case, a ditching into the sea straight ahead (simulated) would have been the safer option rather than a turn back with its associated risks of mis-handling at low altitude.
There are strict gates that must be met and a turn back is limited to the QFIs.
This would suggest that even experienced RAAF pilots who are QFI's appreciate that a high degree of flying skill is a vital factor in the conduct of a successful turn back manoeuvre; otherwise why not allow students to practice these solo? In the case of the Winjeel accident, the instructor was certainly experienced yet a vital few seconds slow to react to the student not lowering the nose prior to turning back.
Having said that practicing a turnback once every six months in the aircraft is, in my opinion, setting yourself up for a scare or worse so I'm strongly of the mind that practice turnbacks belong in the simulator only
Isn't that why CASA mandated emergency manoeuvres for certain aircraft types must only be done in a simulator?