C172 Flight Instructor reported landing safely after experiencing loss of power and low oil pressure on final approach.
Synopsis
C172 Flight Instructor reported landing safely after experiencing loss of power and low oil pressure on final approach.
Narrative
I was flying with my student at the ZZZ airport and we were practicing a Power-off 180 maneuver to prepare him for his commercial pilot practical exam. Upon pulling the power to idle; I noticed that I was able to see the propeller disc in front of me. After a few seconds; I glanced down and realized that the oil pressure had dropped to below operating minimums. I instructed the student to add power and that brought our oil pressure back to within the operating range. I then took control of the aircraft and performed a landing with full flaps and about 1/2' open on the throttle. Landing with this throttle setting produced a little bit of a bounce as I was unable to effectively bleed off energy in the round out and flare. Upon slowing down to a reasonable speed; I was able to exit RWY XX at 1 and I contacted ground while rolling to prevent an engine failure on the taxi way. Upon leaving the airport movement area; I moved my mixture to the full rich position and I pulled the power to idle; the engine died within a few seconds. My student and I were able to coast back to the tie down spots and we shut everything down and immediately called an A&P to come inspect the aircraft.Upon reflecting on this incident in the aftermath; I should have declared an emergency on short final and communicated my problem with ATC as soon as I was on the ground. I was hesitant to do so because I knew that there was traffic behind us in the pattern. In the future; I plan on monitoring my engine vitals more effectively as well as taking preventative action faster.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.