Definition
An approach to landing flown with the aircraft on the correct flight path, at the correct airspeed, in the proper landing configuration, with a controlled and predictable rate of descent and engine power setting, and only minor corrections required to maintain those conditions to the runway threshold.
Plain English
An approach where everything is set up correctly and stays that way: right path, right speed, right configuration, gentle descent, and only small adjustments needed all the way to the runway.
Context Anchor
Used during landing training, approach briefings, and instructor decisions about whether a student should continue a landing or climb away and try again.
Derivation
Stable comes from Latin meaning firm or steady. Approach means the act of coming nearer. Together, the phrase points to a landing attempt that is steady and under control as the airplane gets close to the runway.
Why Pilots Care
An unstable approach increases the chance of hard landings, runway overruns, or the need for a go-around.
Grounding Statement
On a stable approach, the airplane should feel like it is already on a controlled path to the runway, not like the pilot is still trying to rescue the landing.
Intuition Check
Stable does not mean the airplane is perfectly motionless or that nothing changes. Here it means the approach is controlled, predictable, and only needs small corrections.
Example Sentence 1
By 500 feet above the runway, the airspeed, descent rate, and alignment were all where they needed to be, so the instructor noted it as a stable approach.
Example Sentence 2
If the approach becomes unstable, the pilot should execute a go-around rather than forcing the landing.