Definition
A stall that begins at the outer end of the wing rather than at the wing root. On swept-wing aircraft, spanwise airflow toward the tips causes the boundary layer to thicken outboard, so the tips lose lift first as the angle of attack increases. Because the tips are aft of the aircraft's center of gravity on a swept wing, a wingtip stall shifts the remaining lift forward, pitching the nose up and deepening the stall.
Plain English
The wing stops producing lift at its tips before it stops at the part nearest the fuselage. On swept wings this is dangerous because losing lift at the tips makes the nose pitch up, which makes the stall worse instead of letting the aircraft recover.
Context Anchor
Seen in discussions of swept wings, high-speed aircraft, stall behavior, and loss of roll control near a stall.
Derivation
“Wingtip” means the outer end of a wing. “Stall” in aviation does not mean the engine stops; it means the airflow over part of the wing is no longer smooth enough to produce normal lift. Together, “wingtip stall” points to a stall that starts at the outer end of the wing.
Why Pilots Care
It reduces aileron effectiveness early, leaving the pilot with less roll control than expected.
Grounding Statement
Picture the outer end of the wing losing smooth airflow first while the inner wing is still working; the airplane may still be flying, but roll control is starting to weaken.
Intuition Check
Do not read “stall” here as an engine problem. A wingtip stall is an airflow and lift problem at the outer part of the wing.
Example Sentence 1
The transport category jet uses wing fences to prevent a wingtip stall during slow flight.
Example Sentence 2
Sweepback on the jet increased the chance of a wingtip stall at high angles of attack.