flight control

American  

noun

1. the direction of airplane movements, especially takeoffs and landings, by messages from the ground.

2. the system by which this direction is done.

3. the office from which this direction is done.

4. the system by which the pilot of an airplane controls the movement of the airplane.

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Etymology

Origin of flight control

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

Poorly designed flight control software was blamed for the crashes.

From Barron's • Mar. 11, 2026

The company also provides software for flight control and edge computing, and last July acquired Atlas Space Operations to improve its offerings on that front.

From MarketWatch • Jan. 28, 2026

The incident reignited questions about what Boeing had done to improve its safety and quality record since the accidents, which were tied to the company's flight control system.

From BBC • Dec. 5, 2024

A laser cutter was poised halfway through carving out a flight control unit.

From New York Times • May 4, 2024

Both crashes — killing 189 people in Indonesia in October 2018 and 157 people in Ethiopia four months later — were caused by flawed flight control software on the then-new jet.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 21, 2024