Definition
Applying control inputs that are larger, faster, or more frequent than the situation requires, causing the aircraft to deviate beyond the intended attitude, heading, altitude, or airspeed and prompting further corrective inputs.
Plain English
Pushing, pulling, or moving the controls too much, so the aircraft swings past where you wanted it and you end up chasing it back.
Context Anchor
Seen in instrument flying when a pilot is adjusting pitch or power by watching the instruments and may be tempted to chase small changes.
Derivation
From 'over-' meaning too much or beyond, plus 'control.' The 'over' is the key idea: not just controlling the aircraft, but controlling it past the point you intended.
Why Pilots Care
Overcontrol creates unwanted oscillations that increase workload and make it harder to hold altitude, heading, or airspeed.
Analogy
It is like steering a car too sharply back and forth to stay in a lane. Each correction is meant to help, but the car starts weaving because the corrections are too big.
Intuition Check
More control movement does not mean better control. If the airplane keeps passing through the desired result, the correction is probably too large or too frequent.
Example Sentence 1
The student tended to overcontrol the pitch on level-off, climbing fifty feet above altitude before correcting back down.
Example Sentence 2
In the turn, overcontrol of the yoke caused the bank angle to swing past the desired value.