Definition
In the context of emergency or forced landings, a forested area considered as a possible touchdown surface when no open terrain is available. Trees act as an energy-absorbing medium that can dissipate the airplane's forward speed during contact, with survivability depending on landing the airplane at the slowest possible airspeed under control, wings level, and using the tree canopy to absorb impact rather than allowing the airplane to strike trunks at flying speed.
Plain English
When you have no open ground to land on, trees can be used as a last-resort landing surface. The goal is to settle into the tops of the trees as slowly as possible, letting the branches absorb the impact instead of hitting solid trunks at speed.
Context Anchor
Seen in forced landing and emergency approach planning when a pilot is judging possible landing areas after a loss of power or when no normal runway is available.
Why Pilots Care
Using the correct technique reduces the chance of serious injury by slowing the airplane gradually instead of striking the ground at flying speed.
Grounding Statement
From the air, a forest can look like one flat green area, but the airplane will actually meet individual branches and trunks at different heights.
Intuition Check
Do not read “trees” here as background scenery. In this context, trees (forest) means a hazardous off-airport landing area that may still be the best available option in an emergency.
Example Sentence 1
With the engine out and only forest below, the pilot held the airplane just above stall speed and let it settle into the treetops with wings level.
Example Sentence 2
Training materials stress that a tree landing requires accepting some wing damage to keep the fuselage upright and intact.