Loss of airplane control has been and remains a major contributor to fatalities in commercial aviation. NTSB data show that between 1987 and 1996, at least 37 worldwide airline accidents were attributed to airplane upset, resulting in more than 2200 fatalities. Because most airline pilots rarely experience upsets and many have never been trained in maximum performance maneuvers, the Airplane Upset Recovery Briefing was developed as part of an Upset Recovery Training Program with a twofold goal: to increase a pilot’s ability to recognize and avoid upset situations, and to improve the ability to recover control when avoidance fails. An upset is defined by specific parameters: pitch greater than 25 degrees nose up, more than 10 degrees nose down, bank angle greater than 45 degrees, or airspeeds inappropriate for the conditions.
The briefing identifies three broad causes of upsets. Environmental causes include turbulence, clear air turbulence, mountain waves, windshear, thunderstorms, microbursts, wake turbulence, and icing, with wake turbulence being the leading environmental cause. Systems anomalies involve flight instrument failures, autoflight malfunctions, and flight control problems. Pilot-induced causes stem from poor instrument cross-checks, inattention or distraction, spatial disorientation, and improper use of automation.
The briefing then reviews swept-wing airplane fundamentals: flight dynamics based on Newton’s laws, the three energy sources (kinetic, potential, and chemical), load factors, the certificated flight envelope of -1.0 to 2.5 g, and the critical relationship between angle of attack and stall. A key principle is that an airplane can be stalled at any attitude or airspeed, and angle of attack alone determines whether the wing is stalled.
Finally, the briefing presents recovery techniques for nose-high, nose-low, and high-bank-angle situations. These emphasize recognizing and confirming the situation, disengaging the autopilot and autothrottle, recovering from a stall first if one exists, using full control inputs, unloading when necessary, and rolling to wings level before pitching up.
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