Instructor Inadvertently Shut Off Both Engines During Engine-Out Scenario

What was supposed to have been a routine training flight turned into a real-world scenario as an instructor working with a student in an Aztec Airways 1959 Beech 18 inadvertently shut down both engines during an engine-out training scenario.

The training flight originated at Fort Lauderdale, FL, Executive Airport at 1917 EDT Wednesday, according to the FAA. Neither of the people on board … identified as Stuart A. Hanley, 54, of Hollywood, FL, and Ronald Russell, 67, of Auburn, Maine … were injured. Authorities did not say which man was the instructor and which was the student. After both engines were shut down, the plane was able to make a safe off-airport landing on U.S. Highway 27 in a rural area.

The pilot steered the airplane into the median of the lightly-traveled highway after landing, and had wanted to take off again immediately. But authorities said he could not use the highway as a runway, so he taxied the airplane to a nearby boat ramp, according to a report appearing on NBC News. 

Television station WSVN in south Florida reports that the plane was able to take off Thursday morning after being checked over by mechanics, who reportedly replaced a hydraulic line. The Florida Highway Patrol blocked the road so that they could take off. The incident continues to be under investigation.

(Beech 18 pictured in file photo. Not incident airplane)

FMI: www.faa.gov, www.ntsb.gov