On May 15, 7:37*am, Mike Ash wrote:
In article
,

*xyzzy wrote:
The way you recognize a tail stall is that pitch control becomes
abnormal when flaps are extended. *Plus knowing that you're in icing
conditions.

This still sounds like a total crapshoot to me. You can lose pitch
control during a regular stall, and icing can precipitate a regular
stall as well. Obviously in this case the signs were interpreted
incorrectly. Surely it's not a case of "heads we live, tails we die"?
There must be some way to tell which kind of stall is happening besides
these indications which clearly weren't correct in this case, isn't
there?

I guess there doesn't *have* to be, but it's kind of scary if there
isn't.

yes, another reason why it's best for guys like you and me to stay out
of icing conditions. You have to be pretty skilled and experienced
and know what you're doing, which is what we expect from ATP pilots.

As others have said, you can distinguish the difference if you really
know what you're doing, but better not to take that chance if you can
avoid it (which us PPL's, without the pressures of airline scheduling,
can do).