Plain English Meaning

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.

Full 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, , and using the tree to absorb impact rather than allowing the airplane to strike trunks at .