Instructor with spi on night cross country flight forgot to turn on transponder.

Attributes
ACN	276144
Time
Date	199407
Day	Fri
Local Time Of Day	1801 To 2400
Place
Locale Reference	airport : cgx
State Reference	IL
Altitude	msl bound lower : 2500 msl bound upper : 2500
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Night
Aircraft 1
Controlling Facilities	tracon : ord tower : cgx tracon : svo
Operator	general aviation : instructional
Make Model Name	Any Unknown or Unlisted Aircraft Manufacturer
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	cruise other
Flight Plan	None
Person 1
Affiliation	Other
Function	instruction : instructor
Qualification	pilot : cfi pilot : instrument pilot : flight engineer pilot : commercial
Experience	flight time last 90 days : 150 flight time total : 740 flight time type : 85
ASRS Report	276144
Person 2
Affiliation	Other
Function	flight crew : single pilot
Qualification	pilot : student
Events
Anomaly	non adherence : published procedure non adherence : far
Independent Detector	other flight crewa
Resolutory Action	flight crew : overcame equipment problem
Consequence	Other
Supplementary
Primary Problem	Flight Crew Human Performance
Air Traffic Incident	Pilot Deviation

Narrative:

Cause: student forgot to turn on transponder. Improper use of checklists. Contributing factors: lack of proper flight instructor supervision of student pilot. Instructor overconfidence in student. I was on a night cross country with one of my students. The destination was meigs field (cgx) underneath O'hare's mode C veil. The trip to meigs went smooth, as would be expected because I deemed this student to be above average. For the return trip home, we decided to fly along the coast (near downtown) to see the city at night, then continue on our way. The preflight, runup, and takeoff were good, and we had a great view of chicago from our airplane. At this point I found myself acting as a passenger, more attention focused on the outside world than what my student was doing. It was then, after being in the air for approximately 10 mins and on our way home, that I noticed both of us neglected to turn the transponder on. I immediately turned it to altitude and continued home uneventfully. My lack of close supervision of an otherwise good student led to a 10 min jaunt around chicago with no altitude readout for the controllers.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: INSTRUCTOR WITH SPI ON NIGHT XCOUNTRY FLT FORGOT TO TURN ON XPONDER.

Narrative: CAUSE: STUDENT FORGOT TO TURN ON XPONDER. IMPROPER USE OF CHKLISTS. CONTRIBUTING FACTORS: LACK OF PROPER FLT INSTRUCTOR SUPERVISION OF STUDENT PLT. INSTRUCTOR OVERCONFIDENCE IN STUDENT. I WAS ON A NIGHT XCOUNTRY WITH ONE OF MY STUDENTS. THE DEST WAS MEIGS FIELD (CGX) UNDERNEATH O'HARE'S MODE C VEIL. THE TRIP TO MEIGS WENT SMOOTH, AS WOULD BE EXPECTED BECAUSE I DEEMED THIS STUDENT TO BE ABOVE AVERAGE. FOR THE RETURN TRIP HOME, WE DECIDED TO FLY ALONG THE COAST (NEAR DOWNTOWN) TO SEE THE CITY AT NIGHT, THEN CONTINUE ON OUR WAY. THE PREFLT, RUNUP, AND TKOF WERE GOOD, AND WE HAD A GREAT VIEW OF CHICAGO FROM OUR AIRPLANE. AT THIS POINT I FOUND MYSELF ACTING AS A PAX, MORE ATTN FOCUSED ON THE OUTSIDE WORLD THAN WHAT MY STUDENT WAS DOING. IT WAS THEN, AFTER BEING IN THE AIR FOR APPROX 10 MINS AND ON OUR WAY HOME, THAT I NOTICED BOTH OF US NEGLECTED TO TURN THE XPONDER ON. I IMMEDIATELY TURNED IT TO ALT AND CONTINUED HOME UNEVENTFULLY. MY LACK OF CLOSE SUPERVISION OF AN OTHERWISE GOOD STUDENT LED TO A 10 MIN JAUNT AROUND CHICAGO WITH NO ALT READOUT FOR THE CTLRS.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.