Is this thread a portal into some strange alternate reality?
I wondered that reading the first post - and surely this would have been more appropriate in Instructors and Examiners, but never mind.
There are a couple of observations I'd like to make: attitude counts for everything; some people simply cannot or will not be taught - meaning that they refuse to accept advice or guidance in any form, regardless of who is teaching, and secondly, that as a professional, does an instructor not have a responsibility borne out of a duty of care and personal integrity to stop any student who is not progressing, for any reason and seek guidance? Regardless of any contractual obligations you may have to an employer (ATO), surely personal integrity must be paramount?
That said, I have encountered exactly the same in professional pilot training at leading schools in recent years; I recall reading a comment in a training record one day that said "This student has no place in the cockpit of an aircraft, and the continuance of 'xyz's' training does both a disservice to the individual and the training provider". The student had logged over 45 hours dual without reaching a safe standard for first solo and had flown with multiple instructors (all of whom reported similarly) at the insistence of the CFI. To have stopped the student's training would have resulted in a refund through the school's 'skills protection plan' and that simply wasn't acceptable, we were told.
Another, a couple of years later, that could not maintain straight and level for more than a few seconds before falling into some form of unconscious like state where the instructor was unable to communicate or focus the students attention thereby necessitating a take over of control and return to the airfield. Clearly there was a problem and AME guidance was sought. The student returned to training after a period of evaluation (despite a suggestion of vacant epilepsy), with a recommendation for a period of dual monitoring before any solo(!).
Both students finished their training...both now fly for Ryanair.
Last edited by Reverserbucket; 23rd Dec 2015 at 14:00.