Definition
On an attitude indicator, a display showing the miniature aircraft symbol positioned below the artificial horizon line, indicating that the aircraft's nose is pitched below the horizon relative to the earth.
Plain English
What you see on the attitude indicator when the aircraft's nose is pointing down toward the ground. The little airplane symbol sits below the horizon line on the instrument.
Context Anchor
Seen on the attitude indicator during instrument flying, especially when checking whether the airplane is level, climbing, descending, or recovering from an unusual attitude.
Why Pilots Care
It signals a descent or dive that must be corrected to maintain altitude and airspeed limits.
Grounding Statement
On the attitude indicator, if the airplane symbol appears below the horizon line, the instrument is giving a nose-down indication.
Intuition Check
Do not read “nose-down” as automatically meaning the airplane is diving steeply. Here it means the attitude indicator is showing the nose lower than the horizon reference; the amount may be small or large.
Example Sentence 1
When the pilot saw a steep nose-down indication on the attitude indicator, she smoothly applied back pressure to bring the nose back to the horizon.
Example Sentence 2
After entering a cloud layer, the attitude indicator showed a slight nose-down indication that required immediate correction.