Flight Crew Multiengine; Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Flight Instructor; Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 150; Flight Crew Total 18900; Flight Crew Type 2500
Situational Awareness; Training / Qualification
Deviation - Altitude Excursion From Assigned Altitude; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Clearance; Inflight Event / Encounter CFTT / CFIT
Air Traffic Control Issued Advisory / Alert; Flight Crew Became Reoriented; Flight Crew Took Evasive Action
Human Factors
Student was flying his third lesson [for the] Instrument Airplane rating. We were west of our airport and the weather went from broken to overcast. We were on top so we filed an IFR with flight service; called ATC and picked up the IFR code. I was giving the student headings and altitude for the GPS approach to our home base. ATC controller saw the present position to the inbound fix was perfect and cleared us for the approach. A few minutes later; the student allowed the airplane to descend and I told him to correct altitude but he was a bit slow flying the airplane. We became 200 feet low and climbing when a different ATC voice advised we had a low altitude alert. I told ATC we were correcting and we were very short time back at 2;200 feet. This was the student's first IFR approach to an airport. When the approach descent was started a few minutes later we were VFR and we canceled the IFR. The student then proceeded with the approach to a normal (but cross wind) landing. I should have taken the control away from the student and climbed the 200 feet but he already had the nose up; but he just didn't climb as fast as I wanted him to do. I briefed the incident after we landed and he is well aware of being low on an approach and now knows what a 'low altitude' alert is all about. SAFETY.
A pilot; on his first IFR approach with his Flight Instructor; descended prematurely which led to a low altitude alert call from ATC.