Definition
An aircraft orientation in which the wings are tilted relative to the horizon, producing rotation about the aircraft's longitudinal axis. The angle between the wings and the horizon is the bank angle, and the aircraft is said to be in a banked attitude any time that angle is not zero.
Plain English
The aircraft is tilted to one side, with one wing lower than the other, instead of flying with the wings level.
Context Anchor
Seen in instrument flying discussions, especially when describing how a pilot’s inner ear can wrongly sense a turn or level flight after the airplane has been in a gentle bank.
Derivation
Bank' comes from an old word for a sloped edge or ridge. 'Attitude' in aviation means the aircraft's orientation relative to the horizon — not the pilot's mood. So a banked attitude is simply the aircraft's tilted orientation about its lengthwise axis.
Why Pilots Care
A pilot may remain unaware they have entered a banked attitude, leading to incorrect control inputs or continued spatial disorientation.
Analogy
It is like holding a tray so one side is lower than the other. The tray is still moving forward, but it is tilted to one side.
Intuition Check
Banked does not mean the airplane is near a financial bank or a riverbank; it means the wings are tilted. Attitude does not mean mood here; it means the airplane’s position compared with the horizon.
Example Sentence 1
After entering the cloud, the pilot cross-checked the attitude indicator and saw the aircraft was in a slight banked attitude to the right.
Example Sentence 2
The attitude indicator immediately shows the banked attitude so the pilot can return to level flight.