A General Aviation CFI; on a training flight; reported the student pilot turned the wrong way at an intersection for takeoff.

Date: 2023-06 · Aircraft: PA-28 Cherokee/Archer/Dakota/Pillan/Warrior · Phase: taxi

Anomalies: deviation-discrepancy-procedural-clearance|ground-incursion-runway

Synopsis

A General Aviation CFI; on a training flight; reported the student pilot turned the wrong way at an intersection for takeoff.

Narrative

On Day 0; I had a lesson with my student.From an IMSAFE point of view; I did consider not flying. All day; I had been stressed. I realized my stress and emotion; put me out of my mind to focus on the lesson. Also; my student would be moving out of the area soon; and [I] wanted to have a lesson with him. The Piper Warrior II that I normally use was down for 100-hour inspection; so we used an old Cherokee 140. It was a warm day; and performance was not great. I normally carry my flight bag; but to save weight I just pulled out what I needed. Upon engine start; I found that I did not bring my EFB. I use it to monitor traffic. I then let my student go through [the] checklist while I took another EFB During the checklist; when the student sets the DG; I then ask them: Does the heading make sense? Is the runway orientation correct; does the GPS desired track make sense; which way will we turn to taxi and onto [the] runway? Because of the EFB issue this did not get done.We then got our taxi clearance for an Intersection take off on Runway XX [from] taxiway 1. This would mean a turn to the right. I was aware for the last several days [that] the active runway was XY which was a turn to the left - and [to] not get used to a taxi clearance that you normally get. I am aware of [the] issue of turning the wrong way at an intersection take off and try to watch this closely. Many times; I will ask the student which way we will need to turn. As we were taxing; it still did not appear that my EFB was operational - but [I] then decided to ignore it because I did not want any further distraction. Technology is great when it is working and a horrible distraction when it is not. We then taxied to and was holding short of the runway. At this point there was [a] question about the checklist; so I made us go through the checklist again starting from engine runup. To make sure it was complete and to emphasis the importance of following the checklist. Unfortunately; when [I] checked the DG I did [not] follow my own rules and we did not do the orientation sanity check which would have included which way to turn onto the runway.My student called and we received a takeoff clearance for runway XX; and as we started moving; ATC told us to do left closed traffic. As we were crossing onto the runway my student asked something about left closed traffic. This was a surprise [to] me; since we had discussed this in [the] past and [it] did not seem to be an issue. I quickly [described] it and used the word left a few times. Because of this I believe we had left stuck in our minds. He turned left and for some reason I did not pick up on this. We stopped; I had alarm bells going off - something did not seem right - then ATC cancelled our taxi clearance and I realized the mistake. Lessons Learned: Even though I was aware of [the] IMSAFE issue; I still found my mind wondering on the plane issues and I had to bring my mind back to the present. I could have stopped the everything and totally focused on the technology issue. Either [get] it addressed or decide to not use it. I could just have told my student just to take off; and then explained the closed traffic at a later point in a less critical point in the flight. Actions to be taken: Even if I get the same taxi clearance every day; I always write it down. I going to amend this process; by adding arrows on which way to turn above the hotspot areas; intersections and turning onto the runway from and [an] intersection take off. Like how I write down hold short or cross at a runway crossing. Remedial training with an instructor. Discuss how other pilots address this issue. Relay lessons learned to my students.

Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.