Stall Recovery: Ailerons Or Rudder?

At the last minute on final approach, you see an obstacle on the runway. You’ve initiated a go-around, but in your haste you let the nose rise too much, or even pull it up excessively for fear of hitting trees at the far end of the airport. The stall warning horn sounds but you don’t respond quickly enough, and the airplane begins to shudder—the “first aerodynamic indication” of a stall. One wing begins to drop. As you push forward to reduce the angle of attack and break the stall, do you coordinate rudder and aileron to level the wings or force yourself to hold the ailerons neutral and level the wings with rudder alone?

Key Takeaways:

• In a stall recovery, pilots should prioritize keeping ailerons neutral and use rudder alone to level the wings.
• Using ailerons to correct a wing drop during a stall can be detrimental, as it may increase the angle of attack on that wing, potentially deepening the stall or inducing a spin.
• The rudder effectively levels wings in a stall by inducing asymmetric drag, a technique generally safer than aileron input when airflow over the wings is compromised.
• This fundamental "back to basics" technique is critical for preventing loss-of-control accidents, which remain the leading cause of fatalities in general aviation.

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