Plain English Meaning

When an airplane hits the runway too hard or at the wrong angle on landing, it springs back into the air instead of staying down. The pilot then has to recover and either land again gently or go around.

Full Definition

A landing fault in which the airplane touches down and then leaves the runway again because it contacted the surface with excess vertical speed or a high angle of attack, causing the landing gear to compress and rebound and the wings to momentarily produce more lift than weight. The airplane re-enters the air at low speed and a nose-high attitude, requiring prompt corrective action to prevent a hard second or a porpoise.