Definition
A stall that occurs when the airplane is flown with the ailerons deflected one way and the rudder deflected the opposite way, typically during the base-to-final turn when a pilot uses opposite aileron to limit bank while holding inside (bottom) rudder to tighten the turn. The resulting skid combined with low airspeed can produce a sudden, asymmetric stall in which the lower wing drops sharply and the airplane rolls toward the inside of the turn, often with little warning and at low altitude.
Plain English
A stall caused by using the rudder and ailerons against each other -- a setup that most often happens when a pilot turning onto final tries to fix an overshoot by stepping on the rudder to swing the nose around while holding the wings from banking too steeply. At low speed this can flip the airplane into a stall before the pilot expects it.
Context Anchor
Seen in stall training, slow-flight discussions, and especially in warnings about overshooting the turn from base leg to final approach.
Derivation
Cross-controlled means the controls are working against each other -- aileron one direction, rudder the other -- rather than coordinated together. The stall takes its name from this control input pattern.
Why Pilots Care
It raises the chance of an unintentional spin, especially dangerous at low altitude during takeoff or landing.
Grounding Statement
Picture a slow airplane turning toward the runway while the pilot presses rudder one way and holds opposite roll control; the airplane is no longer being flown smoothly through the air, and one wing may stall first.
Intuition Check
Do not think “cross-controlled” means simply using more than one control at the same time. It means the rudder and aileron are being used against each other in a way that makes the airplane uncoordinated.
Example Sentence 1
The instructor demonstrated a cross-controlled stall at altitude so the student could feel how quickly the low wing drops when the airplane is skidding.
Example Sentence 2
The pilot avoided a cross-controlled stall by keeping the ball centered while slowing in the traffic pattern.