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Commercial pilot · ACS CA.VII.B · lesson pack

Power-Off Stalls

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.

1 · Know these cold

  • •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)

2 · The lesson

The aerodynamics
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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))

Want it all on one page, with scenarios? Read the full lesson.

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.

3 · Say it out loud

Answer each one out loud, then check yourself and mark how it went.

  1. Remember Recall it

    “What is the first step in any stall recovery?”

  2. Understand Explain why

    “Why is the base-to-final turn so dangerous?”

  3. Apply Use it on a flight

    “On a go-around with full flaps, the nose pitches up hard as you add full power. What do you do?”

4 · 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.

5 · Quick check

Answer, then reveal. Flag anything you want to see again.

  1. 1. What does a power-off stall simulate?

  2. 2. What is the maximum bank for a turning power-off stall, and the tolerance?

  3. 3. What is a secondary stall?

  4. 4. To which speed do you accelerate after the recovery?

  5. Scenario5. You're slow and overshooting final. What do you do?

Trained it? Now prove it: practice power-off stalls out loud with our examiner.

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Connect it

One situation that runs across this lesson and its neighbors in the same ACS area. Decide first, then check.

Connect it · Slow Flight & Stalls

Turning to avoid traffic, you pull hard in a steep bank at cruise power and the airframe buffets well above the published stall speed.

What happened, what's the recovery, and what makes it dangerous? Decide, then see the worked answer

An accelerated stall: the wing reached its critical angle of attack under a higher load factor, so at an airspeed above the 1 G stall speed. Stall speed rises with the square root of the load factor: about 1.41 times the 1 G stall speed at 2 G, twice it at 4 G. Accelerated stalls tend to break more abruptly and more severely than 1 G stalls, often with a wing drop, and can cost a lot of altitude. Recover by unloading first: release back pressure until the buffet and the stall stop. Then roll the wings level with coordinated controls, then add power as needed. Power doesn't unstall a wing; only reducing the angle of attack does. A spin needs a stalled wing plus yaw, so uncoordinated rudder at that moment, or aileron used to pick up a dropping wing while still stalled, can roll it into one. Speed matters too. At or below maneuvering speed, the wing stalls before the airplane reaches its limit load factor, which protects the structure. Above it, a hard pull can exceed the limit load factor before the wing reaches its critical angle of attack, with no stall to protect you. Maneuvering speed decreases as weight decreases.

AFH (FAA-H-8083-3C), Maintaining Aircraft Control; PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Aerodynamics of Flight

Brings together: Accelerated Stalls · Spin Awareness

Teaching this? The instructor lesson plan →

Study aid, not FAA guidance. Sources: Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C); Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (FAA-H-8083-25C); AC 120-109A; AC 61-67C; Commercial Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-7B); Your airplane's POH/AFM. Checked against current sources 2026-11-13.