Definition
The set of corrective control inputs a pilot makes to return an aircraft to straight-and-level flight after it has entered a pitch, bank, or airspeed condition well outside that intended for normal flight. In instrument flying, recovery is performed by reference to the attitude indicator (or, if it has failed, by reference to the airspeed indicator, altimeter, vertical speed indicator, and turn coordinator). The two standard cases are the nose-high recovery (add power, lower the nose, level the wings) and the nose-low recovery (reduce power, level the wings, then raise the nose).
Plain English
When the aircraft ends up in a position the pilot didn't intend -- pointing too far up, too far down, or banked too steeply -- unusual attitude recovery is the standard procedure for getting it safely back to level flight.
Context Anchor
Seen in instrument flying training when practicing recovery from nose-high, nose-low, or steeply banked situations without relying on a natural horizon outside the aircraft.
Derivation
Unusual' here doesn't mean 'rare' -- it means 'outside the normal range of flight attitudes.' 'Recovery' carries its everyday sense of returning something to its proper state. Together, the phrase names the act of returning the aircraft from an abnormal attitude back to a normal one.
Why Pilots Care
Correct recovery prevents loss of control, excessive airspeed or structural loads, and possible inadvertent entry into a spin or spiral dive.
Grounding Statement
The essential action is to trust the instruments, recognize what the airplane is doing, and smoothly return it to safe controlled flight.
Intuition Check
“Attitude” does not mean mood or mindset here. It means the aircraft’s physical position in flight: nose position and wing position compared with the horizon.
Example Sentence 1
After the autopilot disconnected in turbulence, the pilot performed an unusual attitude recovery to bring the wings level and restore normal pitch.
Example Sentence 2
The instructor placed the aircraft in a nose-low unusual attitude so the student could practice the full recovery procedure under the hood.