Definition
One of the defined parameters of an airplane upset, in which the airplane's nose is pointed more than 25 degrees above the horizon. When the pitch attitude exceeds this threshold (alone or in combination with other upset parameters such as excessive bank, low airspeed, or unintentional flight outside normal envelope), the airplane is considered to be in an upset condition requiring recovery action.
Plain English
The nose of the airplane is pointing more than 25 degrees above the horizon — much steeper than normal climbing. This is one of the conditions the FAA uses to officially say the airplane is 'upset' and needs to be recovered.
Context Anchor
Seen in airplane upset definitions and upset-recovery training, usually while looking at the attitude indicator or discussing an unusual nose-high condition.
Derivation
Pitch' refers to rotation about the airplane's lateral (wingtip-to-wingtip) axis — the nose moving up or down. 'Attitude' here is the aviation meaning: the airplane's orientation relative to the horizon, not a mood or opinion. The 25° figure is the FAA threshold above which a nose-high pitch is considered abnormal and indicative of an upset.
Why Pilots Care
Exceeding this attitude often leads to airspeed decay, stall, or loss of control if recovery is delayed.
Grounding Statement
Picture the horizon line on the attitude indicator, with the airplane’s nose shown well above it—more than 25 degrees high.
Intuition Check
Attitude does not mean the pilot’s mood here; it means the airplane’s position relative to the horizon. Nose up does not always mean the airplane is climbing; it only means the nose is pointed above the horizon.
Example Sentence 1
During upset recovery training, the instructor demonstrated how the airplane behaves when pitch attitude exceeds 25° nose up and airspeed begins to decay rapidly.
Example Sentence 2
During upset recovery training, the airplane was placed in a pitch attitude greater than 25° nose up to practice the correct response.