Small Aircraft; Low Wing; 1 Eng; Retractable Gear
Flight Crew Commercial; Flight Crew Flight Instructor; Flight Crew Multiengine; Flight Crew Instrument
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 30; Flight Crew Total 12500; Flight Crew Type 200
Communication Breakdown; Distraction
ATC Issue All Types; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Clearance; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Landing Without Clearance; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Other / Unknown
Human Factors; Procedure
I was providing night instruction to a private pilot. We departed for the purposes of doing takeoffs and landings. This is the second night flight I have had with this student. On the first flight the student was unprepared and was not up to speed on airport and approach lighting systems. He was assigned homework to become familiar with airport and approach lighting systems prior to a second flight. On this second flight he was also unprepared. Arriving in the airport area the Tower assigned him a left base entry and requested he report 2 miles south. He was having difficulty finding the airport and was high and fast. I was distracted in assisting him find the airport; talking him down and confirming the landing gear was down and missed the 2 mile report. Turning final I was further distracted explaining the PAPI system and how to fly it. We landed without a clearance. While on the ground the Tower controller asked us our position.When informed we were on the ground the controller advised that the Tower was closing for the night and to call them in the morning. To me there are 2 issues here. One is that I missed the 2 mile call and then landed without a clearance. I accept the responsibility for that. The second issue is that I believe the Tower controller was not paying attention to his traffic. It was a clear VFR night. The aircraft had operating position; strobes and landing light and we were the only aircraft in in the Class D airspace. He should have noticed we were closer than 2 miles and either inquired as to our position or; since there was no conflicting traffic; issued us a landing clearance. The Tower does have radar. I don't know what 'the fix' would be other than to pay better attention and not become distracted; but I was more concerned about flying the plane and not becoming a statistic.
GA flight instructor reported becoming distracted with a student pilot; missed a two mile check in report and landed without a clearance.