Describe the recovery procedure from retreating blade stall.

• A. Reduce collective pitch; Regain control of aircraft
• B. Increase collective pitch; Restore nose-up attitude
• C. Apply full throttle and hold cyclic for recovery
• D. Apply pedal inputs to reestablish yaw control

Answer: (A)

Recovery from retreating blade stall starts with unloading the rotor by lowering collective pitch. Reducing collective lowers the overall angle of attack of the rotor blades, which relieves the stall on the retreating blade and lets the rotor regain lift and control authority. Once the stall is relieved, you can reestablish safe forward airspeed and bring the aircraft back to coordinated flight.

Increasing collective would keep the blades steeped in stall, so it worsens the situation. Simply applying full throttle and holding cyclic doesn’t address the rotor’s angle of attack or stall condition. Pedal inputs alone won’t undo the stall or restore lift and control.