SR20 Flight Instructor and student reported the engine failed during initial climb; then surged and failed several times. Flight crew returned to departure airport and landed safely.
Synopsis
SR20 Flight Instructor and student reported the engine failed during initial climb; then surged and failed several times. Flight crew returned to departure airport and landed safely.
Narrative
My student and I had a normal flight which was their first of their stage three IR (Instrument Rating) training. We both had not flown in a week (student more as I had been scheduled to cover for other instructors).We took off out of ZZZ and were headed to ZZZ1 to introduce the student to approaches in the airplane and how there were differences in the way the SIM behaved versus how the plane behaved. As part of my initial departure I always make sure to see where the fuel flow is on the initial departure leg. In this case at full rich it was top of the green. We continued to ZZZ1 without any incident and conducted 3 approaches; 2 touch and go's and 1 missed approach. As we departed I contemplated doing another approach as we would have time left over for the syllabus time but determined this would not be adequate to complete the approach without putting the student over time. I decided to used the extra time to give the student an extra pattern as landings in instrument training are hard to come by and they would benefit from the extra practice.Upon reaching ZZZZZ we contacted tower and were told to enter a left downwind as normal. Upon approaching ZZZZZ1 I heard an aircraft call requesting a full stop. After that I requested a base entry so we could do a stop and go and try some of the flight director settings for the departure in the real world. My student took the landing and I took the departure. Upon reaching 400 feet I gave the controls back to the student and requested one more touch and go and then a full stop. The engine was still looking normal; power normal and sound normal; and no vibrations. We executed the next touch and go and upon reaching 400 - 500 AGL just over the departure end of the runway the engine suddenly goes quiet. I immediately look towards the mixture as this what is normally at fault. As I see it is full my first thought is that it is flooded. As I reach to bring the mixture back to troubleshoot I take controls of the plane. Once I start bringing the mixture back the engine revs up and then suddenly dies. I check the fuel air and spark for the plane and everything is in its proper configuration and turn towards my landing point which is the highway. As I'm doing this I mess with the throttle and mixture and the engine gives me power for a second and then dies. Doing this I realize that if I keep this trend of adjusting the mixture ratio and the air that it will keep giving me quick spurts of power. Upon realizing this I start the turn towards the runway and identify my next landing spots as the road or anything on the airfield of ZZZ. At this time I still have instantaneous power that suddenly drops to a windmilled prop. I execute a steep banked turn and I hear the stall warning go off so I lower the nose as a result. This happens twice. I am still getting instantaneous power out of the engine which helps me correct this error. I turn towards the runway at around 250-300 feet and realize we have enough energy to touch down on the pavement so I stop messing with the mixture and power (Power to idle) and upon increasing the power again I get no response. We touch down safely and the prop windmills until we come to a slow enough speed where the prop stops turning and roll down to exit at Taxiway 1 landing the opposite runway. We secure the engine off of the active runway and tower asks us to answer if anyone is hurt (which we aren't) and that a tow is coming for us.
Second reporter narrative
This happened during my first flight in Stage 3 of instrument. My instructor and I flew to ZZZ1 to practice approaches where we completed 3. At this point my instructor said we wouldn't have enough time to complete another and had me fly back to ZZZ. Once at ZZZZZ crossing we requested to do touch and goes since we had extra time and wanted to get extra landing practice in. We ended up doing a base entry and changed the request to a stop and go. After landing and coming to a full stop my instructor took controls to test flight director settings on takeoff. At a safe altitude he gave me controls back. We then requested another touch and go. After departing from the runway at 400 AGL the engine began to sputter. Up until this point the flight was smooth with no indications of any problems. My instructor took controls and immediately started troubleshooting. He quickly started a turn back towards the runway and [advised ATC] who quickly cleared the runway and gave a landing clearance. During the turn the engine was sputtering until about 200 AGL where it died completely. Around this point during the we turn heard the stall horn at about 80-85 knots. My instructor quickly corrected and landed us safely on Runway XX where we rolled and took Taxiway 1 off. Maintenance soon came out and towed us back to the hanger.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.