Definition
Power-off accuracy landings are training maneuvers in which the pilot reduces engine power to idle at a planned point in the traffic pattern and glides the airplane to touch down on a pre-selected spot on the runway, using only pitch, flaps, and flight path adjustments — not power — to control the descent and arrival point.
Plain English
Pull the power back to idle and glide the airplane down so it lands exactly where you planned, without adding power again to fix your approach.
Context Anchor
Seen in glide training, emergency-landing practice, and traffic-pattern work when learning to judge whether the airplane can reach a selected touchdown area without added engine power.
Derivation
‘Power-off’ describes the engine condition (throttle at idle, producing no useful thrust). ‘Accuracy landing’ means landing precisely on a chosen spot rather than just somewhere on the runway. Together: glide it down and put it where you said you would.
Why Pilots Care
Builds the judgment needed to reach a safe landing spot after an engine failure without overshooting or undershooting the target.
Grounding Statement
Picture the throttle pulled back and the pilot using judgment and airplane control to arrive on the runway at the planned spot.
Intuition Check
Power-off does not mean the airplane’s electrical power is turned off, and it does not always mean the engine has stopped. Here it means the engine is not being used to pull the airplane along during the landing.
Example Sentence 1
On the downwind abeam the numbers, the instructor pulled the throttle to idle and said, ‘Show me a power-off accuracy landing on the second centerline stripe.’
Example Sentence 2
Power-off accuracy landings train pilots to judge glide distance so they can reach a field safely if the engine quits.