[rconti]

I was also struck by

| He told her he believed that air traffic control wanted them to turn left, toward the east river bank.

Now, I'd love to _hear_ the actual comment/instruction here. He may have been hedging because he was trying to piece together the stepped on "pass behind" direction from ATC. But I also wonder if it's an inherent problem when the student outranks the instructor?

[aaronbaugher]

Seems like a lot of people have never had to deal with a higher-ranked person who might ruin the underling's career if shown up in a particularly embarrassing way. It's easy to imagine that prospect causing the instructor to hesitate just enough for disaster.

[mbrameld]

Instructors routinely take the flight controls, it's not embarrassing at all.