Welcome Guest. Sign in or Signup

2 Answers

Stuck flaps on takeoff

Asked by: 2062 views Aircraft Systems, FAA Regulations, General Aviation

Am I legally allowed to fly with my flaps stuck at 10 degrees?

Ace Any FAA Written Test!
Actual FAA Questions / Free Lifetime Updates
The best explanations in the business
Fast, efficient study.
Pass Your Checkride With Confidence!
FAA Practical Test prep that reflects actual checkrides.
Any checkride: Airplane, Helicopter, Glider, etc.
Written and maintained by actual pilot examiners and master CFIs.
The World's Most Trusted eLogbook
Be Organized, Current, Professional, and Safe.
Highly customizable - for student pilots through pros.
Free Transition Service for users of other eLogs.
Our sincere thanks to pilots such as yourself who support AskACFI while helping themselves by using the awesome PC, Mac, iPhone/iPad, and Android aviation apps of our sponsors.

2 Answers



  1. KDS on Apr 08, 2019

    I’m sure there are those who will disagree, but the answer is no. An airplane with its flaps stuck in any position does not meet the original type certificate of the aircraft.

    A pilot faced with such a situation could probably get a Special Flight Permit (Ferry Permit) and that would be the way to proceed.

    http://www.faa-aircraft-certification.com/special-flight-permit.html

    Setting the legalities aside, think about it like this. If 10 degrees is safe, what about 15. What about 25. Where is the point where okay becomes not okay and who is to say what is safe and what isn’t. A very wise mentor once told me when considering an action to think about how it is going to sound while standing in front of a judge. What could go wrong? Lots of things. The engine quits and you can’t quite make a field because the airplane is dragging flaps. Vice versa, the engine quits and you can’t make that steep approach into a short field because you can’t get full flaps. Or maybe you forget and fly above Vfe or the airplane is structurally capable of sustaining more turbulence with the flaps up than down and you unknowingly do some damage to the airplane.

    Special flight permits are relatively easy to obtain and that is definitely the way to go. Then, I’ll just add a word of caution. Once you get the permit, read it. It will say you must do something and must not do something else and you would be amazed how often a pilot receives a special flight permit and then departs not in compliance with the permit.

    +2 Votes Thumb up 2 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  2. Jaziri Elyes on Apr 11, 2019

    Hello,
    First of all, I totally agree with KDS. And I just wanted to add a point, flying in icing conditions with flaps extended is not safe, or maybe prohibited by your AFM.

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes


The following terms have been auto-detected the question above and any answers or discussion provided. Click on a term to see its definition from the Dauntless Aviation JargonBuster Glossary.

Answer Question

Our sincere thanks to all who contribute constructively to this forum in answering flight training questions. If you are a flight instructor or represent a flight school / FBO offering flight instruction, you are welcome to include links to your site and related contact information as it pertains to offering local flight instruction in a specific geographic area. Additionally, direct links to FAA and related official government sources of information are welcome. However we thank you for your understanding that links to other sites or text that may be construed as explicit or implicit advertising of other business, sites, or goods/services are not permitted even if such links nominally are relevant to the question asked.