Unlicensed flight instructor gets student killed (video)

Hoover is a retired Air Force fighter pilot who posts "debriefs" about plane crashes. His videos are thoroughly researched and not sensational. He always takes the time to acknowledge and respect the victims of these crashes. His latest video is especially sad because it never should have happened.

Keith Kozel was a student pilot, flying with Philip Everton McPherson II, who he thought was a qualified flight instructor. The plane crashed shortly after takeoff. The plane caught fire, and McPherson was able to escape the flames, but Keith Kozel was killed. It turned out that after a complaint to the FAA, McPherson failed a recertification and voluntarily surrendered his license. He made no subsequent attempts to rectify the issue. Unfortunately, the FAA did not suspend or revoke his instructor certificate or notify the flight school that he was no longer legal to fly, so McPherson kept flying with students.

Because neither the flight school nor the student knew that McPherson was not legally able to fly, much less instruct anyone, Keith Kozel had no reason to think this training flight would be his last. McPherson ignored multiple warning signs indicating problems and should have aborted the takeoff. As a result, the plane crashed, flipped over, and caught fire. McPherson exited through the only door on the right side of the aircraft while his student was unfortunately killed.

Oddly, the NTSB report does not mention McPherson's lack of qualifications at the time of the crash. The US Attorney's office, however, took notice. On August 1st, 2024, almost two years after the crash, Phillip Everton McPherson III was charged with involuntary manslaughter and at least 40 counts of flying an aircraft with passengers without possessing an Airman certificate permitting him to do so. He could face up to 128 years in prison.

Previously:
Instructor surprises student pilot by letting him land on his first flight
Pilot thought instructor was 'pretending to nap' in flight but he wasn't pretending, nor was he napping
Watch a student pilot lose engine power and land safely in a field