Skyhawk 172/Cutlass 172
Training / Qualification
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Ground Event / Encounter Loss Of Aircraft Control; Ground Excursion Runway; Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence
Flight Crew Regained Aircraft Control
Human Factors
While practicing short field landings; I came in on final at 70 kts. for Runway XX at ZZZ. I touched down on the runway with a slight right crosswind as I had done on the landing 5 or so minutes before; where I felt the same thing had happened; being only two of the three wheels initially touched. On the first landing this was not a problem and we took off again without issue; but during this approach I attempted to fix the problem by putting in right rudder as my Instructor told me to; which would have been fine if I had not also hit the right brake as well; causing the Aircraft to turn sharp to the right and drift sideways into the ditch between the runway and the taxiway. Both me and my Instructor were ok; and the plane seemed intact. My Instructor took the controls swiftly after we veered off course and maneuvered the plane gently into the ditch. After this we turned the engine off.
I am a Flight Instructor and was practicing landings with my student. We were practicing short field landings and were inbound for the second landing at the airport. On final the student had made the remark we were coming in slightly fast and began correcting for the correct airspeeds. The approach to landing itself was not abnormal.  It was on centerline and at a proper glidepath; just slightly fast. Due to the fact that we had been practicing short field landings; the student was aiming to flare at a point that likely should have been extended. As we flared; a little bit of crosswind caused there to be a slight sideload on the left wheel and at the time it was the only wheel touching the ground. As the Instructor; I had mentioned right rudder to get us realigned with centerline and reduce the sideloading. The student used right rudder but accidentally had his foot on the brake as well as the rudder. This caused the plane to brake solely on the right side and begin skidding down the runway. Out of fear; I believe the brake was pushed slightly more as opposed to less. At this time I started calling that I had the flight controls and the student took his hands off of the controls. At this point; the aircraft was perpendicular to the runway. Momentum had the plane still rolling slowly. I was not sure at the time if there was any damage to the tires due to side load or skidding and did not want to apply brakes in an effort to reduce damage. At this point I treated the plane as if it was a soft field landing; I used minimal braking and let the plane come to a stop in the grass directly next to the runway. I have a very small feet and know for myself that if my heels are on the ground I am on the rudder. In order to touch the brake; my leg needs to be lifted. This is not the case for most other people. In the future; I have now learned that to reduce the chances of this happening again; I will verify on short final that the students have their feet only on the rudder and not touching the brakes. Instead of teaching 'heels on the ground' I will now specify that 'balls of feet should be on the rudders'
C-172 Instructor and Student pilot reported a runway excursion.