[Myrddin]

Having the instructor on board is often an opportunity to be schooled in new skills on the way to a certification. Clearly this pilot was completely capable of flying and making a safe landing.

My instructor accompanied me for night flight instruction and an extended period of "under the hood, instruments only" with my instructor calling the maneuvers and acting as the "safety pilot". I spent 2 1/2 hours under the hood in a night flight including multiple recoveries from stalls cooked up by my instructor. At the end, he said you can pull the hood. I was on center line of the runway approaching the threshold with about 50 ft left before touchdown.

[AnAmericanMother]

My flight instructor was a bit of a joker.

He once opened the passenger side door in flight.

He would also pull the throttle back all the way and announce, "Engine failure! Whaddya do?" He also once sneaked a pencil eraser into the cigarette lighter and said, "Whoops! Electrical fire! Whaddya do?"

I could see him pulling something like this . . . but I think I would have called him on it a little sooner, and then radioed the tower to have the EMTs standing by on landing.

That would have been a VERY tense landing, though . . . especially in a crosswind!