# Landing Signal Officer (LSO) State Feedback Guide

During carrier landings, the Landing Signal Officer (LSO) provides critical feedback to help pilots maintain a safe and accurate approach. The chart above represents a standardized matrix used by LSOs to assess aircraft state in terms of **altitude**, **angle of attack (AOA)**, **speed**, and **alignment** with the landing area.

### Matrix: Altitude vs AOA

[![image.webp](https://bookstack.phobetor.site/uploads/images/gallery/2025-07/scaled-1680-/QKzimage.webp)](https://bookstack.phobetor.site/uploads/images/gallery/2025-07/QKzimage.webp)

The **Matrix** section of the chart gives feedback based on a combination of the aircraft’s **altitude** (vertical position relative to the ideal glideslope) and **AOA** (which reflects energy state—too fast or too slow).

- The center of the matrix (0,0) is the ideal zone: "You're on glideslope" at optimum AOA.
- Movement away from the center reflects increasing deviation:
    
    
    - **High and fast** = "You're high and fast! / You're overpowered"
    - **Low and slow** = "You're low and slow! / POWER!"
- Color coding indicates severity, from **green** (ideal) to **red** (severe deviation), aligning with a DEFCON-style system:
    
    
    - DEFCON 5 (Green): Perfect
    - DEFCON 4 (Light Green): Slight deviation
    - DEFCON 3 (Yellow): Moderate deviation
    - DEFCON 2 (Orange): High risk
    - DEFCON 1 (Red): Critical state, immediate correction needed

### Alignment Feedback

The **Alignment** section indicates the aircraft's lateral position relative to the centerline of the runway:

- 0: "You're on centerline" – perfectly aligned.
- **±1**: Slight deviations — "A little right for lineup / You’re lined up left"
- **±2**: Major deviations — "Right for lineup" or "Come left"

An important note: **Lined up left/right** callouts are only made if the aircraft’s heading is closely aligned with the runway but offset laterally. This prevents confusing heading misalignments with position deviations.

### Power Callouts

When determining whether to call out speed or power, **power takes priority** if the aircraft’s throttle setting is dangerously high or low. This ensures throttle corrections are addressed before secondary speed concerns.