deadstick landing
A forced landing without propulsion of an aircraft that normally operates with propulsion.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“The pilot had to make a deadstick landing when the engine failed.”
“After the fuel line ruptured mid-flight, the experienced pilot calmly executed a deadstick landing in a nearby field.”
“With flames licking the cowling and the propeller seized, Captain Hartley had no choice but to attempt a deadstick landing on the abandoned airstrip below.”
The term emerged circa World War I, though it did not originally concern the aircraft's control stick. It referred instead to the wooden propeller, which, upon the failure of the engine, became a stationary and useless piece of timber. A dead stick was a propeller that had ceased to provide thrust, necessitating a descent governed entirely by gravity and the pilot's remaining nerves.
By the time jet engines replaced wooden blades, the phrase had been preserved through an extension of the metaphor. It remains distinct from the gymnastics-derived "stick the landing," despite the occasional and fortunate overlap in outcomes when a skilled pilot manages both simultaneously.
Last updated August 10, 2026