As others have said the most important part of the PFL is flying the aircraft. Many instructors, especially new ones try to teach everything at once when you get to the PFL exercise, so the poor student is trying to use some elaborate field selection protocol, while doing checks and passenger briefs and radio calls, which means the "flying the aircraft" part inevitably suffers.
I start with a demo on a field and the only talking I do is about what I am looking for out the window (ie the constant aspect) and emphasizing the importance of trimming for and holding the glide attitude. The student then practices just the flying part and only when he/she has that well in hand is all the other bumph added.
And remember about 80% of all engine failures are caused by the actions or inactions of the pilot, with fuel exhaustion/contamination/mismanagement and carb ice on the top of the hit parade.
The least likely cause of an engine failure is a sudden mechanical failure which gave no warning. Also flying schools train the hell out of sudden total power loss situations but they almost never talk about a partial engine failure which is a far more likely scenario.
Last edited by Big Pistons Forever; 6th Sep 2011 at 21:00.