Definition
The combined data showing the airplane's nose attitude relative to the horizon (pitch — nose up, level, or nose down) and its angle of roll about the longitudinal axis (bank — wings level, banked left, or banked right). In instrument flight, this information is displayed primarily on the attitude indicator and is the foundation for controlling the airplane when outside visual references are unavailable.
Plain English
How much the nose is pointed up or down, and how far the wings are tilted to one side or the other. Together, these two pieces of information tell you exactly how the airplane is sitting in the air.
Context Anchor
Used in instrument flying, especially when discussing an attitude indicator or what the pilot loses when that instrument fails.
Derivation
Pitch comes from older English meaning to set or fix at a particular angle (as in pitching a tent or the pitch of a roof). Bank comes from the same root as the side of a riverbank — a sloped surface — and was carried into aviation to describe a wing tilted from level. Both words describe an angle, which is exactly what they measure in flight.
Why Pilots Care
Loss of this data forces reliance on partial-panel techniques to keep the aircraft upright and on course.
Intuition Check
Pitch does not mean sound here, and bank does not mean a financial place. In this context, pitch means nose-up or nose-down position, and bank means left or right wing tilt.
Example Sentence 1
When the vacuum pump failed, the attitude indicator slowly drifted off, so the pilot used the turn coordinator and altimeter to maintain pitch-and-bank information.
Example Sentence 2
Partial panel training prepares pilots to fly safely without pitch-and-bank information from the primary attitude source.