Which of the following is not a characteristic of a steep spiral dive?

Which of the following is not a characteristic of a steep spiral dive?

• A. Stalled wing
• B. Rapid descent with high bank angle
• C. Spiral that tightens with time
• D. Nose-down pitch

Answer: (A)

In a steep spiral dive, the aircraft is in a fast, banking descent where the turn tightens as you go. The high bank angle and gravity combine to pull the airplane into a faster spiral with a nose-down attitude, so you descend rapidly and the spiral tends to tighten over time as the turn rate increases and the airspeed rises. A wing that’s stalled is not a typical feature of this condition because a stall happens at high angle of attack when airspeed is low. In a spiral dive, the airplane usually has plenty of airspeed and the nose-down pitch helps maintain that speed, so the wing isn’t operating near the stall AoA.

In a steep spiral dive, the aircraft is in a fast, banking descent where the turn tightens as you go. The high bank angle and gravity combine to pull the airplane into a faster spiral with a nose-down attitude, so you descend rapidly and the spiral tends to tighten over time as the turn rate increases and the airspeed rises.

A wing that’s stalled is not a typical feature of this condition because a stall happens at high angle of attack when airspeed is low. In a spiral dive, the airplane usually has plenty of airspeed and the nose-down pitch helps maintain that speed, so the wing isn’t operating near the stall AoA.