A Flight Instructor and student reported an engine failure causing the cowling to detach and damage the windshield.
Synopsis
A Flight Instructor and student reported an engine failure causing the cowling to detach and damage the windshield.
Narrative
I was doing private pilot training with a student. For this specific flight we were on our 5th takeoff and landing. Neither I nor the student suspected anything to be wrong with the plane; it seemed to be running great our whole flight; and all engine instruments were in the green. The student was struggling with a couple of things; so I took the controls for this sequence of takeoff and landing; to let her watch and to also talk her through her previous mistakes. Throughout the takeoff everything was looking good. When we turned downwind and went wings level; the engine got extremely rough for about 1-2 seconds. Then the prop stopped; the engine cowling blew off and hit the passenger side windshield shattering it. I told the student to remain clear of controls made my call on the CTAF and immediately turned towards the airport. There was a plane departing runway XX so I pulled all flaps and slipped the plane to lose enough altitude to make the taxiway before the runway. Ended up getting the plane to the ground with no damage to airplane other then the windshield and the engine cowling. Me and the student were safe with no injuries. This situation stressed the importance of practicing procedures and I will use what I learned in this flight to improve my lessons for my students.
Second reporter narrative
I am a student pilot and I was practicing takeoffs and landings with my instructor. I performed our pre-flight checklist and did not notice anything abnormal. On our fifth takeoff/landing I let him takeover the controls to show me a proper landing because I was not understanding some parts. We took off perfectly fine and as we turned downwind I noted where he made his call to other traffic. As soon as he started to trim out the aircraft the nose and propeller shook violently for barely two seconds. Before we could do anything there was an explosion and my view was obstructed. Our propellor stopped spinning and we started losing altitude rapidly. My view was blocked by the cowling which remained on the windscreen for quite a while. Once it finally blew off I saw smoke and oil cover the windscreen and I couldn't see outside clearly. In the midst of all of the chaos my instructor remained calm and communicated our situation on the radio. He slipped the aircraft down to the airport and pulled all flaps. He was going to land us on one of the runways but we were not going to make it so we landed on the taxiway. He told me to press the brakes and we came to a full stop which is when I realized that the windshield was shattered on the right side. Neither I nor my instructor were harmed or injured. I am aware of the importance of being familiar with procedures now because if it were not for my instructor's teachings I would not have known what needed to be done for us to land safely.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.