Which of the following describes indicators of an approach to stall and the correct recovery actions?

• A. Increasing airspeed, decreasing pitch, and reducing throttle.
• B. Pilots reduce angle of attack only, ignoring airspeed changes.
• C. Decreasing airspeed, increasing pitch, and possible stick shaker; recover by reducing angle of attack, increasing airspeed, and adjusting throttle.
• D. Decreasing altitude; recover by lowering nose.

Answer: (C)

The main idea is recognizing when an airplane is slipping toward a stall and knowing the proper recovery actions. As you approach a stall, indicated by a falling airspeed and a higher angle of attack, you may also see the stick shaker activated as a warning. The correct recovery is to reduce the angle of attack by pushing the nose slightly down, which allows the airplane to pick up airspeed again. At the same time, increase thrust if needed to help accelerate and maintain safe airspeed, then smoothly reestablish flight attitudes and climb as appropriate.

Why the other options don’t fit: simply reducing angle of attack while ignoring airspeed won’t guarantee a safe recovery because airspeed must be increased to move away from the stall boundary. Relying only on reducing angle of attack without addressing airspeed is unsafe. Downward changes that focus on altitude loss or lowering the nose as the primary action without restoring airspeed are not correct. And reducing throttle during a stall approach would typically hinder recovery by limiting energy to regain speed.