Definition
The prompt, controlled return of an aircraft to straight-and-level flight after it has entered an attitude not normally used in routine flight, such as a steep nose-high climb, a steep nose-low descent, or an extreme bank angle. In instrument flight, recovery is performed by reference to the flight instruments using a standard sequence of control inputs that depends on whether the unusual attitude is nose-high or nose-low.
Plain English
Getting the airplane back to normal flight after it ends up pointing too far up, too far down, or banked too steeply. The pilot uses the cockpit instruments to figure out what the aircraft is doing and applies a set order of control inputs to fix it.
Context Anchor
Seen in instrument training, especially when practicing how to recover after losing the normal flight position or becoming disoriented.
Derivation
Recovery means getting back to a safe or normal condition. Attitude comes from an older meaning of position or posture; in aviation, it means the airplane’s position in relation to the horizon, not a person’s mood.
Why Pilots Care
Prompt recovery prevents loss of control, excessive airframe loads, or entry into a stall or spin.
Grounding Statement
If the instruments show the nose is too high, too low, or the wings are banked unexpectedly, the task is to stop the unsafe trend and return to controlled flight.
Intuition Check
Do not read attitude as emotional state here. In aviation, attitude means the aircraft’s nose and wing position relative to the horizon.
Example Sentence 1
After becoming distracted by a chart, the pilot looked up to find the aircraft in a nose-low, banked attitude and began the recovery from unusual attitudes procedure by reference to the instruments.
Example Sentence 2
After becoming disoriented in cloud, the pilot initiated recovery from unusual attitudes by first centering the turn coordinator and then adjusting pitch and power.