Definition
A safety system on turbojet and turbofan aircraft that automatically returns the thrust reversers to their stowed (forward thrust) position if they are inadvertently deployed in flight or if a malfunction is detected during deployment.
Plain English
A built-in safety circuit that automatically pulls the thrust reversers back to the closed position if they ever open when they shouldn't.
Context Anchor
Seen in turbine airplane thrust reverser discussions, especially when learning how the airplane prevents an unwanted reverser movement.
Derivation
Stow' comes from the Old English 'stow,' meaning a place to put something. To 'stow' a thrust reverser means to return it to its stored, inactive position. 'Auto-stow' simply means the system does this automatically, without pilot action.
Why Pilots Care
Protects the reverser hardware from damage in flight and ensures the airplane remains in the correct configuration for safe climb-out.
Intuition Check
Do not think of “auto-stow” as a storage compartment. Here it means the airplane automatically moves the thrust reverser back to its safe, locked-away position.
Example Sentence 1
If a thrust reverser begins to deploy in flight, the auto-stow circuit immediately drives it back to the closed position.
Example Sentence 2
Maintenance checked the auto-stow circuit after a rejected takeoff to confirm it had functioned correctly.