AA.V.C.S5
Landing Configuration Stall Prevention
What does AA.V.C.S5 mean?
Acknowledge the cue(s) and promptly recover at the first indication of an impending stall (e.g., buffet, stall horn, stick shaker, etc.)..
- Area of Operation
- V. Stall Prevention
- Task
- C. Landing Configuration Stall Prevention
- Element type
- A Skill element — something you must physically demonstrate to your examiner on the practical test (checkride), not the written.
What you need to know
In the landing configuration, drag is high and airspeed margins are thin, so distractions, steep turns to final, gusty winds, or an unstabilized approach can quickly erode airspeed into a stall without the pilot noticing—this is why stall warning awareness (buffet, horn, stick shaker) and immediate recognition matter so much. The core recovery concept the ACS wants you to know is angle of attack reduction first (reduce back pressure/pitch), then adding power and managing configuration, rather than chasing altitude or bank correction alone—delaying this at low altitude is what turns a recoverable stall into a loss-of-control accident. You should also understand how secondary stalls (recovering too abruptly and re-stalling), accelerated stalls (stalling at higher-than-normal speed due to load factor in a turn), cross-control stalls (uncoordinated rudder/aileron use, classic base-to-final accident scenario), and elevator trim stalls (trim fighting your pitch input, especially with a go-around power addition) each have a distinct cause but the same fix: unload the wing and restore coordinated flight. Environmental factors like gusty/turbulent air, airframe icing, wind shear, or high density altitude all reduce your stall margin and change how the airplane feels and warns you, so approach and landing performance planning must account for them, and any practice stall series must be set up with proper clearing turns and an altitude that guarantees recovery well above the ground with no traffic or terrain conflict.
Why students miss this
Students often think of a landing-configuration stall as identical to a takeoff or clean stall, missing that flaps, gear, and lower power settings change the pitch, drag, and control-effectiveness picture, especially in a turn to final or during a go-around. They also tend to focus only on the initial stall recovery and forget that recovering too aggressively or with cross-controlled inputs can trigger a secondary or cross-control stall right when the airplane is closest to the ground.
Focus on: Study how each landing-configuration variable (flap setting, gear position, power, bank angle, and trim) changes the stall margin and recovery technique, and practice recognizing the full range of stall warning cues rather than waiting for the most obvious one.
Drill this area until it sticks
AA.V.C.S5 came from a question you missed on the FAA Airline Transport Pilot Multiengine Airplane knowledge test. Drill ACS-aligned practice questions with AI explanations and the cited FAA handbook reference behind every answer — free to start.
Missing it isn't a verdict on you — it's a sign your prep skipped the why behind it. Memorizing answer letters is exactly what leaves gaps like this. Here, every answer explains the reasoning and cites the FAA source it comes from, so the concept holds on test day and at the checkride oral.
Study this concept
Plain-English explanations of the key ideas behind AA.V.C.S5, grounded in the FAA handbooks.
Related ACS codes in C. Landing Configuration Stall Prevention
Other elements the FAA tests under this same Task — review them together.
- AA.V.C.R1Factors and situations that could lead to an inadvertent stall, spin, and loss of control durin…
- AA.V.C.R2Range and limitations of stall warning indicators (e.g., aircraft buffet, stall horn, stick sha…
- AA.V.C.R3Stall warning awareness.
- AA.V.C.R4Stall recovery procedure.
- AA.V.C.R5Secondary stalls, accelerated stalls, elevator trim stalls, and cross-control stalls.
- AA.V.C.R6Effect of environmental elements on aircraft performance while landing as it relates to stalls…
- AA.V.C.R7Stalls at a low altitude.
- AA.V.C.R8Collision hazards, including aircraft and terrain.
+ 7 more elements in this Task.
Common question
Why is a cross-control stall considered so dangerous during landing?
Because it typically happens in an uncoordinated turn close to the ground, such as overshooting final approach, it can produce a rapid roll toward the low wing with little altitude available to recognize and recover before ground contact.
What is an FAA ACS code?
The FAA's Airman Certification Standards (ACS) break each certificate into Areas of Operation, Tasks, and specific Knowledge (K), Risk Management (R), and Skill (S) elements. Every knowledge-test question maps to one code like AA.V.C.S5. When you miss a question, your Airman Knowledge Test Report lists its code so you know exactly what to review.
Have a whole list of codes from your report? Paste them all into our free ACS code lookup to see every weak area at once — or browse the aviation glossary for plain-English definitions.