Power-off Stalls: Essential Recovery Steps to Know

Over the course of pilot training, you will master a set of maneuvers that will give you a feel for how the plane handles during all phases of flight. 

Stalls are all about learning how the plane acts when flying slowly, right on the lower edge of its flight envelope.

One of the types of stalls you’ll learn is the power-off stall, sometimes called the arrival stall since it is designed to simulate that you’re approaching a runway to land. 

Here’s a look into what it is, why we learn it, and how we perform the maneuver.

What Is a Power-off Stall?

It’s easier to visualize what a power-off stall is (and why it’s a problem) if you call it an approach to landing or arrival stall. 

Like every stall, this one results from the wing exceeding the critical angle of attack. 

In this scenario, the plane is set up as if it were approaching a runway to land. So, there is low power (thrust) and high drag (gear and flaps are down, so the plane is “dirty”). 

The speed at which a power-off stall will occur is shown on the airspeed indicator by the bottom end of the white arc, known as Vso. 

That’s also the slowest marked speed on the gauge and probably the slowest speed the aircraft is technically capable of. 

It’s vital to understand power-off stalls for several reasons. An essential part of every flight is coming in for a landing, after all. 

That means operating near stall speeds in a landing configuration, learning to recognize an impending stall — and correcting promptly — are essential. 

As a maneuver, practicing power-off stalls teaches pilots important characteristics about their airplanes. 

Every aircraft design is different, and each reacts differently when stalled. 

By heading to a safe altitude and intentionally stalling, the pilot can learn what signs the plane gives before the stall occurs, how it feels, and just what happens when it does stall. 

These characteristics will change depending on the aircraft, its loading and weight, and the type of stall being practiced. 

Power-off Stall Scenarios

We spend time mastering how imminent stalls feel and how to recover from them so that pilots will recognize them should they find themselves in a dangerous situation. 

There are a few classic examples of how a power-off stall can kill, but all of them come as a result of a pilot failing to maintain and manage their airplane’s pitch and power to maintain a safe airspeed. 

Forced Landing

The most dramatic example of a dangerous power-off stall situation would be during a forced landing approach due to an engine failure. 

Should the pilot misjudge the glidepath to their intended landing field or obstacles appear along that path; their natural inclination would be to attempt to extend the glide — to pitch up to stay higher longer. But, by pitching up, the airspeed is lost, and the plane will stall. This could be more dangerous than landing short of the field since a crash would result from loss of control rather than a controlled landing.

In the words of famous stunt pilot Bob Hoover, “If you’re faced with a forced landing, fly the thing as far into the crash as possible.” In other words, don’t stall the plane. Always maintain control.

Traffic Pattern Operations

Another scenario that could result in a power-off stall is during traffic pattern operations. 

Pilots who overbank on turns to base and final run the risk of stalling the aircraft, and possibly inducing the stall at a higher airspeed than normal due to the increased load factor from the steep-banked turn. 

This is why it is important to limit all turns in the traffic pattern to no more than 30 degrees and to maintain good coordination throughout.

Power-off Stalls Procedure

Power-off stalls are one of the first maneuvers you learn during Private Pilot training. It’s a natural step towards understanding how the plane behaves during flight at slow air speeds. 

You may begin by identifying and recovering from the stall before it occurs, but you will practice full stalls as part of your training.

Most light training aircraft have straightforward stall characteristics, but they do feel different from one another. You can expect to notice any of the following cues that indicate a stall is imminent:

• Changing control pressure and a sluggish aircraft response, sometimes called “mushy controls.”
• Visual or audible stall warnings (horns)
• AOA indicator 
• Change in the wind noise outside the aircraft
• Nose dropping
• Loss of altitude
• Sinking feeling

Here is the basic power-off stall procedure in a typical training aircraft. Your school procedures and the steps you follow in your specific make and model of aircraft may vary slightly. 

You will also vary your setup to learn how the plane handles in all configurations (i.e., flaps up/power-off, flaps 10º/low power, and in turns). 

1. Establish at an altitude that will allow recovery no lower than 1,500 feet AGL.
2. Complete clearing turns and the Pre-Maneuver Checklist.
3. Establish slow flight – dirty: While maintaining altitude, reduce power to 1,500 RPM, increase the angle of attack to hold altitude, and incrementally add flaps once you are in the white arc. Establish Vref (approach to landing speed, C172 = 65 knots) with full flaps (and gear down, if retractable). Trim to hold the airspeed.
4. Pull the throttle to idle and begin a shallow descent as if approaching a runway to land. 
5. Pull the stick back (increase the angle of attack) until the stall occurs. 
6. Push the stick forward and lower the nose to reduce the angle of attack. Keep the wings level.
7. Add full power and pitch for the horizon. 
8. Raise the flaps incrementally once a positive rate of climb is established.
9. Establish a climb back to the original starting altitude. 

FAA Graphic: Airplane Flying Handbook

Stalls and recovery techniques are covered in the FAA’s Airplane Flying Handbook, Chapter 5: Maintaining Aircraft Control, Upset Prevention and Recovery Training.