Skyhawk 172/Cutlass 172
Flight Crew Commercial; Flight Crew Flight Instructor; Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Multiengine
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 46.5; Flight Crew Total 587.6; Flight Crew Type 550
Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical; Ground Event / Encounter Ground Strike - Aircraft
Flight Crew Landed in Emergency Condition
Aircraft
I was with my flight student and we had just performed our clearing turns at 3;000 [feet] MSL and I had decided to execute a simulated engine failure. I pulled carburetor heat and slowly pulled partial power 3/4 out. My student pitched for Vg after some prompting but he got there. I emphasized using a pattern entry instead of flying straight to a chosen field. As we lowered I pulled the throttle to idle and announced 'now you've lost all power.' He turned simulated base then rolled onto final. When we arrived at 500 AGL I said 'ok let's climb out.' He applied full power but rpm didn't increase at all to which he said 'uh oh.' I took control and tried to ease the throttle in gently as to not flood the engine and I believe I heard the engine briefly gain power and then lost power again. The engine was windmilling and never stopped until we made the landing in the green wheat field of approximate 2 feet high. The blade stopped not abruptly but I could tell the grass helped stop it quicker then normal. Also no blade damage was noted. Going back to just before I landed I was shallow turning trying to find the smoothest place to land. The field was hilly and so 300 feet approximately before touch down I saw a hill steeper than I'd like to have seen. Thus I pitched slightly forward to conserve as much energy as possible for the anticipated up hill flare which worked well actually getting us just on top as we made contact with the wheat field. The plane came to a halt in approximately 35 feet. No damage to aircraft and actually very little damage to the wheat field but try telling that to the farmer.
C172 Instructor Pilot reported landing in a field after the engine would not respond following a simulated engine failure maneuver.