Why Do We Stall?

Fixed-wing pilots start learning stall recognition and avoidance during pre-solo training. The private and sport pilot checkrides require recovering from developed stalls with minimal loss of altitude, and stall and spin awareness are (or at least should be) refreshed during flight reviews for the duration of ones flying career. But unintended stalls still put dozens of airplanes into the ground every year. Is it possible that stall training as currently practiced isnt as effective as it might be?

David Jack Kenny

Monday, May 21, 2018 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Despite extensive training, unintended stalls are a leading cause of fatal aviation accidents, frequently occurring at low altitudes in the traffic pattern, and rarely during deliberate practice.
Current stall training is often ineffective because it doesn't replicate real-world accident conditions (e.g., low altitude, uncoordinated flight) and can teach counterintuitive responses, like pulling to a full break for private pilots rather than immediate recovery at the first indication.
To improve safety, the article advocates for a shift in training emphasis towards early stall avoidance and recognition, promoting recovery at initial indications, and fostering a dynamic understanding of Angle of Attack (AoA) rather than relying solely on airspeed.

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Fixed-wing pilots start learning stall recognition and avoidance during pre-solo training. The private and sport pilot checkrides require recovering from developed stalls with minimal loss of altitude, and stall and spin awareness are (or at least should be) refreshed during flight reviews for the duration of one’s flying career. But unintended stalls still put dozens of airplanes into the ground every year. Is it possible that stall training as currently practiced isn’t as effective as it might be?

If so, there are reasons. Chief among them is that most of the situations that lead to accidents—close to the ground and often uncoordinated—can’t be duplicated in the airplane with a reasonable margin of safety, and existing light-airplane simulators don’t achieve convincing visual or kinesthetic fidelity. (Try putting one into a spin.) Instead, we practice at altitude. Having the cushion needed to recover from botched initial efforts eases the alarm that accompanies real-world excursions.