How does the airplane react to a tailplane stall?

• A. Pitches nose down because the tail is no longer providing downward pressure.
• B. Pitches nose up because the tailplane increases downward pressure.
• C. Experiences no nose or tail pitch change.
• D. Yaw is the primary response with no pitch change.

Answer: (A)

When the tailplane stalls, it can no longer generate the downward force that it normally provides to help balance the aircraft’s pitch. That downward force on the tail creates a nose-up moment about the center of gravity, so losing it removes that nose-up tendency. With the stabilizing downward lift gone, the airplane tends to pitch down. This is a pitch-change event, not a primary yaw issue, and it’s why the nose-down response is the correct description.