Spiral Dive

A steep, descending turn with rapidly increasing airspeed and increasing bank angle that is NOT a spin. In a spiral dive, the wing is not stalled; instead, the aircraft is in an ever-tightening, nose-low turn with G-forces building. It is often confused with a spin, but the key difference is that airspeed increases in a spiral dive (indicating the wing is flying) while it remains relatively constant in a spin. Recovery requires first reducing power, then leveling the wings with coordinated aileron and rudder, and finally gently pulling out of the dive. Pulling back on the elevator before leveling the wings tightens the spiral and increases the load factor dangerously.