During a High Speed Straight Emergency Descent, what is the target airspeed?

• A. 60-70 knots
• B. 130-150 knots
• C. 75-85 knots
• D. 100-120 knots

Answer: (B)

The main idea here is to lose altitude quickly while keeping control and staying within the aircraft’s performance limits. A high-speed straight emergency descent is about achieving a rapid descent without sacrificing control authority or requiring excessive control inputs.

Setting the target airspeed in the 130–150 knot range provides the best balance: you get a strong descent rate to drop altitude quickly, yet you remain well within the flight envelope so the controls stay effective and you avoid approaching stall at low speeds or overspeed at too high speeds. Speeds much lower than this don’t yield a significant descent rate and can bring you close to stall if you pitch down aggressively. Speeds much higher than this risk structural overspeed and loss of control authority in some configurations.

So, aiming for about 130–150 knots in a straight descent allows for a fast, controllable altitude loss with a safety margin for recovery once you’re below the immediate hazard.