Definition
A landing approach flown with the engine at idle from a selected point in the traffic pattern to the touchdown point, requiring the pilot to manage glide path and airspeed using pitch, flaps, and timing rather than engine power.
Plain English
A landing where the pilot pulls the throttle back to idle and glides the airplane down to the runway without using engine thrust to adjust the descent.
Context Anchor
Used during engine-failure training, emergency landing practice, and accuracy landing practice such as a power-off landing from the traffic pattern.
Why Pilots Care
Essential skill for handling total engine failure and for developing precise energy management without relying on thrust.
Analogy
It is like coasting a bicycle toward a stop without pedaling. You have to judge your path and speed because you cannot simply add effort later to fix a poor setup.
Intuition Check
Power-off does not always mean the engine is physically shut down. In training, it often means the throttle is at idle so the airplane behaves as if little usable power is available.
Example Sentence 1
On downwind abeam the touchdown point, the student reduced the throttle to idle and flew a power-off approach to the runway.
Example Sentence 2
In the event of an engine failure, the pilot immediately established a power-off approach to the nearest suitable field.