Engine mechanism that, after touchdown, redirects part of the airflow forwards to help slow the aircraft on the runway.
What it is
On modern turbofans the most common design is the cascade type: a section of the nacelle slides back, blocker doors close off the fan duct and the air escapes through grilles angled forwards. Other engines use clamshell or bucket doors that close behind the exhaust. On turboprops the propeller does the same job by moving into reverse pitch.
As a rule, reversers can only be deployed on the ground, once the aircraft is firmly on its wheels. They are most effective at high speed early in the landing roll and are stowed before the aircraft slows right down, to avoid re-ingesting hot gas or blowing debris off the runway. The wheel brakes still do most of the work, and certified landing distances on dry runways take no credit for reverse thrust: it is an extra margin.
The Airbus A380, for example, has reversers only on its two inboard engines.
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This page was last updated on October 9, 2026
APA
Vuelopedia. (2026, October 9). Thrust reverser. Retrieved October 17, 2026, from https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/thrust-reverser
MLA
“Thrust reverser.” Vuelopedia, Fundación Poderia, 9 Oct. 2026, vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/thrust-reverser. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.
Chicago
Vuelopedia. “Thrust reverser.” Fundación Poderia. Last modified October 9, 2026. https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/thrust-reverser.
Harvard
Vuelopedia (2026) Thrust reverser. Available at: https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/thrust-reverser (Accessed: 17 October 2026).
BibTeX
@misc{vuelopedia_en_glossary_thrust_reverser,
author = {{Vuelopedia}},
title = {{Thrust reverser}},
publisher = {Fundación Poderia},
year = {2026},
date = {2026-10-09},
url = {https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/thrust-reverser},
howpublished = {\url{https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/thrust-reverser}},
urldate = {2026-10-17},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-17}
}Wikipedia
{{cite web |url=https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/thrust-reverser |title=Thrust reverser |website=Vuelopedia |publisher=Fundación Poderia |date=2026-10-09 |access-date=2026-10-17 |language=en}}