Definition
A stall that occurs at an airspeed higher than the airplane's normal 1G stall speed, caused by exceeding the critical angle of attack while the wing is loaded by more than 1G — typically during steep turns, abrupt pull-ups, or other maneuvers that increase load factor.
Plain English
A stall that happens at a faster-than-usual speed because the pilot is pulling hard on the controls or turning steeply, which makes the wing work harder and reach its stalling angle sooner.
Context Anchor
Seen in maneuvering practice, steep turns, pull-ups, recovery training, and discussions of why an airplane can stall above its normal published stall speed.
Derivation
‘Accelerated’ here does not mean ‘going faster.’ It comes from the Latin accelerare, ‘to hasten,’ and in physics refers to any change in motion — including turning. A turning or pulling-up airplane is accelerating, which loads the wing beyond 1G and brings the stall on sooner.
Why Pilots Care
An accelerated stall can occur unexpectedly during normal maneuvering speeds, so pilots must recognize the higher stall threshold in turns and abrupt pitch changes to avoid loss of control.
Grounding Statement
Picture a steep turn where the airplane feels heavy in the seat: the wing has to make extra lift, so it can reach the stall point sooner than it would in level flight.
Intuition Check
Do not read “accelerated stall” as “a stall caused by speeding up.” Here, “accelerated” means the airplane is being maneuvered in a way that increases the wing’s workload.
Example Sentence 1
The instructor demonstrated an accelerated stall by rolling into a steep turn and progressively increasing back pressure until the wing stalled well above the published stall speed.
Example Sentence 2
An abrupt pull-up from a dive produced an accelerated stall well above the published stall speed.