How airplanes sometimes stop in air before landing in air before landing?

Answer 1

There are a few VTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing) Aircraft that can do that. Usually by angling the thrust from the Engine(s) down instead of rearwards.

Generally, Airplanes do not stop in mid-air, certainly not before landing. It is possible however due to an optical illusion that they may appear to have stopped moving.

When an airplane is lined up to land, there are several stages to the approach. When the pilot makes the transition to final approach he reduces the throttle to increase the descent rate, but may not need to alter the position of the aircraft (such as lowering the nose) at all.

An observer on the ground which is watching this from the airport may very well experience an optical illusion due to this. As the aircraft changes from a flight path which would pass directly overhead into a flight path which is more directly down the observers line of aspect, but without making any noticeable changes to pitch it could easily appear that the aircraft has momentarily stopped in mid-air even though it is in fact travelling over 100 mph. A similar illusion happens when playing catch, when the ball appears to hang in midair for an instant as it passes through the arc and is coming straight down your line of sight.

Answer 2

Airplanes do not stop in the air before landing unless you're lucky enough to be the pilot of a Harrier or F-35C.