The latest ATSB Aviation Short Investigation report has just been published. Issue 6 AB-2011-077. On page 35 is the ATSB report on a Twin Commanche crash at Camden on 23/12/2010.
Aviation Short Investigation Bulletin: Second Quarter, Issue 6
The highly experienced instructor cut the No 2 Mixture control just after take off to "simulate" an engine failure. Control was lost when the student mis-identified the engine failure and the aircraft went into an incipient spin. The instructor did a sterling job of recovering from the spin but the aircraft hit the deck wings level and no one was hurt.
There was a similar scenario at Camden several years earlier where the 35,000 hour instructor died of his burns after control was lost and the aircraft (a Duchess) belly landed. In that accident the instructor also cut the mixture shortly after take off and the aircraft clipped trees and landed ahead wheels up. Fire broke out instantly
I thought CASA had banned mixture cuts on take off following the earlier Duchess crash? Either way, that technique is fraught with danger of mishandling by either the instructor, the student or both. These two crashes and others before them prove that instructors should not risk the lives of their students with dangerous practices in attempts at realism.