Why does my aircraft pitch up and stall after touchdown?

An aircraft that pitches up and appears to stall after touchdown has usually bounced back into the air; excess aft elevator then raises angle of attack while airspeed decays. Hold the normal landing attitude after a tiny bounce, but if the bounce is high, pitch keeps increasing, or control is uncertain, go around.

In Aviation & Real-World Flying, the crucial distinction is whether the aircraft remains supported by its landing gear or has become airborne again. Wheel contact does not itself stall the wing.

Is it really a stall after touchdown or a wheel stall?

No: the landing wheels cannot aerodynamically stall the aircraft. A tyre can skid or a wheel can lock under braking, sometimes informally called a “wheel stall”, but that is separate from a wing exceeding its critical angle of attack.

The usual sequence is touchdown, landing-gear compression, a rebound into the air, continued back-pressure and rapid speed decay. The aeroplane may then exceed its critical angle of attack and drop heavily onto the runway.

A brief stall-warning indication near the end of a properly flown flare can occur in some aircraft. Once a bounce has put the aircraft back in the air, however, a continuing warning, buffet or wing drop is a serious cue to stop trying to land.

Why does the plane elevator make the nose pitch up?

On a conventional aeroplane, pulling the control column or stick aft moves the elevator to command a nose-up pitching moment. After a bounce, that input can produce an excessive pitch attitude just as the aircraft is losing energy.

Pitch attitude and angle of attack are related but are not the same measurement. A large pitch angle can cause a tail strike without a wing stall, while a wing can stall at a modest-looking pitch attitude during a steep descent or abrupt manoeuvre.

Several conditions make an unwanted pitch-up more likely:

• Excess touchdown speed: residual lift allows a small disturbance or gear rebound to send the aircraft airborne again.
• High sink rate: a hard or flat arrival compresses the landing gear and can produce a substantial bounce.
• Excess aft elevator: pulling after the bounce raises the nose instead of arresting the developing problem.
• Leaving ground effect: induced drag increases as the bounced aircraft rises, contributing to speed loss.
• Nose-up trim or aft centre of gravity: less forward force is available to stop the pitch excursion, and control forces may be misleadingly light.
• Power effects: go-around power can create a strong nose-up tendency in some aircraft, especially when nose-up trim is already set.
• Pilot-induced oscillation: alternating large aft and forward inputs turn one bounce into repeated nose-gear and main-gear impacts.

Pulling up exchanges kinetic energy for height and increases drag, so the indicated airspeed falls unless power and available energy offset it. Our explanation of why pitching up causes airspeed to decrease covers that relationship in more detail.

What should I do when the aircraft pitch angle is too large?

Treat a rapidly increasing pitch angle after a bounce as an unstable landing, not as something to correct by forcing the nose towards the runway. There is no universal maximum pitch angle: tail-clearance limits, landing attitudes and stall margins differ substantially by aircraft type.

1. Classify the bounce: continue only after a very low bounce with a stable normal landing attitude, secure directional control and ample runway remaining.
2. Stop increasing the pitch: re-establish the aircraft’s normal landing attitude. Do not freeze an excessively nose-high attitude, pull farther back or push abruptly towards the runway.
3. Use power deliberately: where the aircraft’s procedure permits, a small amount of power can cushion a minor second touchdown. Avoid adding power and then allowing the nose to rise unchecked.
4. Abandon an unstable recovery: go around after a high bounce, repeated bounce, wing drop, continuing stall warning, large pitch change, loss of runway alignment or doubt about the runway remaining.

If the wing has begun to stall, reducing angle of attack takes priority over holding the nose up. The aircraft is close to the ground, so the recovery must be prompt and consistent with its approved procedure; our guide to stall recognition, angle-of-attack reduction and altitude loss explains the aerodynamic principles.

Can I go around after touchdown?

Yes, a go-around after touchdown is possible in many aircraft when an initial contact or bounce leaves the landing unsafe. Apply power and control pitch according to the aircraft’s procedure rather than trying to force another touchdown.

The decision becomes aircraft-specific once wheel braking, ground spoilers or reverse thrust have been selected. Some transport-aircraft procedures prohibit attempting a go-around after reverse thrust is deployed. Follow the flight manual or operating procedure rather than treating every rejected landing like a light-aircraft touch-and-go.

As power comes in, counter any normal pitch-up tendency and change flap and landing-gear configuration only on the prescribed schedule. If the aircraft starts striking the nose and main gear alternately, use the immediate actions in our explanation of how landing porpoising develops and when to go around.

How do I prevent speed decay and another bounce?

Prevent the sequence with a stabilised approach, the correct speed for the aircraft and one progressive flare instead of a late, aggressive pull.

• Use the published approach speed for the aircraft’s weight, configuration and conditions; do not add an arbitrary speed margin “for safety”.
• Correct excessive speed before the flare. Carrying it over the threshold encourages floating, ballooning and runway loss.
• Trim for a stable approach rather than setting so much nose-up trim that the aircraft tries to flare by itself.
• Reduce the descent rate with a smooth pitch change while looking towards the far end of the runway for attitude and height cues.
• Manage power according to the aircraft. Closing it too early can increase sink rate, while carrying too much power prolongs the float.
• After main-wheel contact, maintain the type’s normal landing attitude and lower the nose under control rather than releasing or increasing elevator abruptly.

A tricycle-gear trainer, tailwheel aircraft and transport jet require different post-touchdown handling. Tailwheel wheel landings and three-point landings use different elevator techniques, while many jets rely on spoilers to dump lift and require controlled nose-wheel derotation. Type-specific operating information takes priority over generic advice.

Why does this happen in MSFS 2024 after a good landing?

In MSFS 2024, a pitch-up that occurs at the same instant on every touchdown often points to a control binding, trim, assistance or aircraft-model problem rather than landing technique. The same diagnostic approach applies on PC, Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 or PS5 Pro, although available controllers and interface labels differ.

1. Inspect the elevator before flying: move every controller through its range and watch the cockpit control or external control surface. The elevator should move smoothly and return to the expected position.
2. Search every connected device: look for assignments containing elevator, pitch trim and brake. Remove duplicate axes and check that a brake button has not also been assigned to aft elevator or nose-up trim.
3. Check for stick drift: recalibrate the pitch axis and use only enough dead zone to stop unwanted movement. A large dead zone makes precise flare inputs harder.
4. Remove competing control: verify that the autopilot is disconnected and that piloting assistance or AI control is not applying elevator during the flare.
5. Reset the aircraft state: confirm pitch trim, payload, fuel distribution and centre of gravity before the approach. An aft loading error can turn a small input into a pronounced pitch-up.
6. Run a clean comparison: use calm weather, a dry runway and an unmodified built-in aircraft. If that lands normally, the original aircraft, add-on, loading preset or control profile is the likely source.

A spike that begins only when the brakes are pressed strongly suggests a shared binding. If it starts only when go-around power is applied, check trim and control the aircraft’s normal power-induced pitch rather than assuming the touchdown caused a stall.

For the approach and flare technique surrounding this problem, see our practical flight-simulator landing procedure.