Final answer:
Three types of acceleration encountered by an aircraft are linear (tangential) acceleration, angular acceleration, and centripetal acceleration. Linear acceleration changes speed, angular acceleration changes the rate of rotation, and centripetal acceleration changes the direction of the velocity without affecting speed.
Step-by-step explanation:
The three types of acceleration an aircraft can encounter include linear acceleration, angular acceleration, and centripetal acceleration. Linear acceleration, also known as tangential acceleration, refers to changes in the speed of the aircraft without altering its direction of motion.
On the other hand, angular acceleration occurs when there is a change in the rate of rotation, affecting the tangential acceleration but not affecting the speed directly. Finally, centripetal acceleration is experienced by an object in circular motion and causes a change in the direction of the aircraft's velocity but not in its speed. These accelerations can act independently or simultaneously on an aircraft, and understanding them is vital for the study of the physics of motion.