Flight Instructor and their student reported an unstable landing in a crosswind resulted in a temporary loss of control and runway excursion.
Synopsis
Flight Instructor and their student reported an unstable landing in a crosswind resulted in a temporary loss of control and runway excursion.
Narrative
Flight operation for commercial pilot airplane single engine land course progress check for flight school. My role was the check instructor conducting stage test on the student. Student was performing a normal approach & landing into Runway XX in ZZZ. Wind condition: 15kts crosswind but not gusty. When on final approach; student applied appropriate crosswind correction input; aircraft was aligned with Runway center line. During flaring to land: when right main wheel slightly touched Runway surface first but not fully settled; student released the ailerons input back to neutral. Aircraft soon fully touched down with a great tendency traveling to the left of center line; student applied brakes on both pedals attempting to slow down the aircraft and I started inputting controls as well; aircraft's left main wheel [departed] to the left side of Runway; rolled along the dirt for 2-3 seconds then back on Runway. No obstacles were hit; no collision or any injury involved. After rolling back on Runway; student taxied clear of Runway. During taxi roll to transient area; no abnormals were observed; aircraft was rolling evenly. I decided to park in ZZZ transient area to inspect any possible damage. No damage observed on any part of the aircraft (no cracks or any debris observed; tires conditions decent); crew then decided to depart ZZZ direct to ZZZ1; which was our base airport where we could seek maintenance. After landing in ZZZ1; I contacted Maintenance and squawked and grounded the aircraft for further inspections. Immediate notification was made to the Chief Pilot's office. A safety report was submitted. Both me and the student will be taking FAA safety courses as well. On an evaluation standpoint as the check instructor; because the student released ailerons crosswind correction just as the right main wheel slightly touched Runway; when the aircraft fully touched down; left main wheel experienced firmer touchdown with more force due to winds; so when student applied braking; it gave even more friction on the left main wheel even if the input was on both pedals as claimed by the student. Because of the worsening left turning tendency; by the time I could get onto the controls; the aircraft's left main wheel already excurred to the dirt road left of Runway for a few seconds. During the debrief session with the student; we talked through what controls were inputted and what led into the Runway excursion; with an emphasis on crosswind correction. Student understood the incident and will be getting retraining with his primary instructor. As a relatively new check instructor; even though trying to correct the situation with my best ability; we still excurred Runway unideally. In the future; I would take over controls from the student a few seconds earlier or intervene verbally in earlier stage to prevent similar situations from happening.
Second reporter narrative
This event was a Runway excursion. Landing in 11 knot crosswind and used crosswind correction; which kept me on center line and approach was stable. Was a few knots fast while entering ground effect so had some additional energy in this landing. When I felt my right wheel touch down; I began releasing my crosswind correction. When all 3 wheels were on the ground; I was drifting to the left and applied right rudder to correct it. This did not halt the drift; so I applied both brakes to reduce the remaining energy and halt the drift. It felt like hydroplaning in a car- my inputs didn't seem onto have the traction with the ground to make a difference. I applied less brake pressure in hopes of gaining traction. We drifted left of the Runway and our left main gear rode dirt for roughly two seconds. At this point my instructor applied some additional brake pressure and traction was regained and we returned to their Runway & center line. We taxied off the Runway and parked; turned off the engine and inspected the airplane for damage. The tire was okay; there was dirt kicked up but we did not detect any severe damage to the tire; wheel pants or gear as a whole. We determined the aircraft was safe and airworthy to return to ZZZ1. Upon arrival at ZZZ1; we squawked the plane and described the event to Maintenance. Upon debrief; we discussed why the aircraft was drifting left in spite of my control inputs. We stressed that I should maintain crosswind correction all the way down until stable on the Runway; as the wind likely caused our initial drift to the left. With the extra energy; there was likely additional force being placed upon the left gear. In addition to filing this report; I am also completing FAA Safety Lessons.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.