Commercial pilot · ACS CA.VII.B
Power-Off Stalls
A power-off stall is an approach stall done at altitude: you configure for landing, descend, raise the nose to a stall, and recover with minimal altitude loss.
Why this one matters
Approach-and-landing stalls happen close to the ground, where there's little height to recover. The turn from base to final, a go-around with full flaps and nose-up trim, and a distracted descent are the classic setups. Practicing them at altitude makes the recovery automatic, and teaches you to see the setup before it happens.
Can’t miss
- •Power-off stalls simulate the approach and landing: configured, descending, then pitched up until the stall.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), slow flight, stalls and spins)
- •Recovery: Disconnect the autopilot or wing leveler if engaged; reduce the angle of attack until the stall warning stops; if a wing drops, check the yaw with rudder and keep the ailerons near neutral until the wing is flying, then level the wings with coordinated aileron and rudder; add power as needed (watching for left-turning tendency and pitch-up); then return to the desired flight path. The goal is to get the wing flying again, not to save altitude: minimum altitude loss comes from a correct recovery, and holding the nose up to save altitude causes a secondary stall.(AC 120-109A, Stall Prevention and Recovery Training)
- •Reducing the angle of attack is what recovers the stall and returns you to the flight path; altitude loss is accepted, and power only helps you lose less.(AC 120-109A, Stall Prevention and Recovery Training)
- •Pulling again too soon in the recovery causes a secondary stall.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), slow flight, stalls and spins)
- •Typical real-world setup: a low, slow, overshooting turn to final, tightened with rudder.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), slow flight, stalls and spins)
- •Commercial standard: heading ±10° straight, or bank not over 20°, ±5° in turns; acknowledge the cues at the first indication; recover at the first indication or after a full stall, as the evaluator asks; configure per the manufacturer and accelerate to VX or VY; return to the altitude, heading and airspeed specified.(Commercial Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-7B), CA.VII.B.S6-S10)
- •Finish no lower than 1,500 feet AGL single-engine, 3,000 feet AGL multiengine.(Commercial Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-7B), CA.VII.B.S2)
What you should know
The aerodynamics K1 · K2
- The wing always stalls at the same critical angle of attack; the speed where it gets there rises with load factor (bank, a pull, gusts), weight and a forward CG, and falls with flaps and an aft CG; power, attitude and yaw affect it too. Uncoordinated, one wing can reach the critical angle first and drop.(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Aerodynamics of Flight)
- Recognize it by sight (nose high, attitude), sound (horn, quieter air noise) and feel (mushy controls, buffet, sink). Stall characteristics vary by design.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), slow flight, stalls and spins)
How it's flown K3 · K4 · R4 · R7
- Choose a practice area clear of terrain, obstacles and wires, with a forced-landing option in mind; clear it with clearing turns before each maneuver, and keep looking outside while you fly it, especially when the high nose blocks the view ahead.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), slow flight, stalls and spins)
- Configure for approach or landing, establish a stabilized descent, then smoothly raise the nose to the attitude that induces the stall, straight or in a turn of up to 20°.(Commercial Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-7B), CA.VII.B.S3-S6)
- Recover: Disconnect the autopilot or wing leveler if engaged; reduce the angle of attack until the stall warning stops; if a wing drops, check the yaw with rudder and keep the ailerons near neutral until the wing is flying, then level the wings with coordinated aileron and rudder; add power as needed (watching for left-turning tendency and pitch-up); then return to the desired flight path. The goal is to get the wing flying again, not to save altitude: minimum altitude loss comes from a correct recovery, and holding the nose up to save altitude causes a secondary stall. Then clean up as the POH says and climb at VX or VY.(AC 120-109A, Stall Prevention and Recovery Training)
- Prevent it in real life: a stabilized approach, a rectangular pattern without steep turns to final, and a go-around when the approach isn't right.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), slow flight, stalls and spins)
Warnings, secondary and cross-control stalls R1 · R2 · R3 · R5
- Stall warnings (horn, light) must start at least 5 knots above the stall in each configuration, typically 5 to 10 knots (check the POH), and continue to the stall; they are angle-of-attack driven and can fail, and in an accelerated stall the warning comes at a higher speed. Buffet differs between airplanes. Know the other cues: mushy controls, quieter air noise, a high nose, sink.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), slow flight, stalls and spins)
- A stall warning on approach or in the flare before touchdown means lower the angle of attack, and on approach go around. The horn at the moment of a deliberate full-stall touchdown is the result of the landing, not permission to fly through a warning on final.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), slow flight, stalls and spins)
- Secondary stall: pulling out of the dive before the airspeed recovers. Accelerated stall: a stall at a higher-than-normal speed from load factor, in a steep turn, an abrupt pull-up or any abrupt maneuver, even wings level.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), slow flight, stalls and spins)
- Cross-control stall: too much inside rudder in a skidding turn, opposite aileron to stop the bank increasing, and back pressure. It can come with little or no warning; the inside wing stalls and drops sharply and the airplane can roll into a spin. The only safe fix for an overshoot is to go around.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), slow flight, stalls and spins)
- Wind shear and microbursts: first an increasing headwind and a performance gain, then a strong downdraft, then a tailwind and a rapid loss of airspeed and climb. The early gain is the trap: don't reduce power or pitch up into it.(AC 00-54, Pilot Windshear Guide)
Environment and attention R6 · R8
- Turbulence and gusts change the angle of attack suddenly; a microburst or wind shear can drop the airspeed in seconds; at high density altitude there is less power to recover with, and the true airspeed at the stall is higher.(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Aerodynamics of Flight)
- Distraction is how stalls happen in real flying: a frequency change, a passenger, traffic. Keep a scan outside and inside, and if in doubt, lower the nose first.(Risk Management Handbook (FAA-H-8083-2A))
On the flight
ACS standards
- Approach or landing configuration, coordinated, stabilized descent; heading ±10° straight, bank not over 20°, ±5° in a turn, to the stall asked for.(Commercial Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-7B), CA.VII.B.S3-S6)
- Acknowledge the first cue, recover promptly, configure and accelerate to VX or VY, return to the assigned altitude, heading and airspeed; finish no lower than 1,500 feet AGL (3,000 multiengine).(Commercial Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-7B), CA.VII.B.S2, S7-S10)
What your instructor is watching for
Your instructor watches for clearing turns, a stabilized descent, coordination to the stall, a prompt reduction in angle of attack, no secondary stall, a smooth clean-up and climb at VX or VY, and the commercial tolerances.
Scenarios
Decide what you would do first, then see the worked answer.
You overshoot the turn to final with a tailwind on base.
What do you do? See the worked answer
Don't tighten the turn with rudder or more bank: go around and fly a wider pattern.
Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), slow flight, stalls and spins
In the recovery you pull up hard as soon as the nose is down, and the buffet returns.
What happened? See the worked answer
A secondary stall: you raised the angle of attack again before the airspeed recovered. Lower the nose again, then ease out of the descent.
Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), slow flight, stalls and spins
The stall warning sounds in a 20° turn to final, with flaps out.
What do you do? See the worked answer
Lower the nose, level the wings, add power, and go around.
AC 120-109A, Stall Prevention and Recovery Training
Common mistakes
Adding power before lowering the nose.
The wing is still stalled.
Instead: Angle of attack first, then power.
Cleaning up flaps all at once.
It drops the airplane and can cause another stall.
Instead: Retract in steps as the POH says.
Uncoordinated stalls.
A wing drops and the airplane can spin.
Instead: Keep the ball centered all the way.
Now train it
Say it out loud, hear it asked, and take the quick check in this lesson’s practice pack. It tracks your shaky spots.
Got it?
When it feels solid, practice power-off stalls out loud with our examiner.
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Go to the source (free)
Teaching this? The instructor lesson plan →
Sources
- Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C): Slow flight, stalls and spins; multiengine airplanes
- Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (FAA-H-8083-25C): Aerodynamics of Flight
- AC 120-109A: Stall Prevention and Recovery Training
- AC 61-67C: Stall and Spin Awareness Training
- Commercial Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-7B): Area VII
- Your airplane's POH/AFM: stall recovery, speeds and limitations
Study aid, not FAA guidance. Regulations change; check the current text at eCFR and the ACS. Checked against current sources 2026-11-13.