This is an excerpt from a report made to the Aviation Safety Reporting System. The narrative is written by the pilot, rather than FAA or NTSB officials. To maintain anonymity, many details, such as aircraft model or airport, are often scrubbed from the reports.
During our final approach to Runway 35 at Bolinder Field-Tooele Valley Airport (KTVY) in Utah, Aircraft Y called simulated engine failure over the radio while they were on the downwind.
I was around 500 feet lower at the time of their call with most of my final approach complete.
During short final/touchdown we noticed the plane buzzed over the top of our aircraft at about 200 feet (ADS-B showing the information), causing undue danger in the event that we had to abort our landing for whatever reason.
The jump plane pilots have been known to do such events in times past.
My instructor radioed to them about their unsafe buffoonery with zero recognition. It was a brief statement about a student pilot (myself) in training. He was quite unhappy with their antics and opted to not escalate it via CTAF bantering.
Primary Problem: Human Factors
Perhaps it was unclear as to who was where in the pattern, maybe you weren’t seen until they turned toward the runway. When the engine out was called you might have advised your location on short final as being a possible conflict.
200 feet directly above you is a fair distance presuming you weren’t a helicopter capable of sudden vertical climb. Never understood the need to slam throttles and mixtures, dump flaps, haul back on the controls and raise the gear in a panic for a missed approach 100 feet above a runway. If it isn’t IMC what appeared on the all of sudden that you didn’t see coming.
About 1970 at the Oak Grove Airport just south of Fort Worth my instructor had a student on her first solo.
When she was about 200 AGL on short final a faster twin passed under her and landed.
The CFI was not happy to say the least. He did not knock any sense in the hot shot as much a he wanted.
But there were words.
Sure – the guy calling a simulated engine failure needs to be dealt with – but – the big story here is that instructors who strive to protect their students and are willing to step out and TCB are definitely keepers – it means that they will do their best for their students