Plain English Meaning

A bouncing landing where the airplane rocks up and down on its nose and main wheels, getting worse with each bounce, like a porpoise diving in and out of the water.

Full Definition

A pilot-induced oscillation during landing or takeoff in which the airplane bounces between its nosewheel and main wheels in a progressively worsening rocking motion. It typically begins when the airplane touches down nose-low or in a poor landing attitude, causing the nosewheel to strike the runway first and rebound the airplane back into the air, where it then descends nose-low again and repeats the cycle with increasing severity.

Context Anchor

Encountered during landing training, especially in discussions of bounced landings, improper , and from .