Final answer:
An airplane may turn left in a nose-high attitude due to factors like banking, where lift force is divided into horizontal and vertical components, wind impact, and aircraft design elements like propeller torque. Newton's first law of motion also plays a role in understanding why a force (horizontal component of lift) is needed for the airplane to change its straight-line motion.
Step-by-step explanation:
There are several factors that can cause an airplane to turn to the left, particularly when it is in a nose-high attitude. One primary reason relates to the phenomenon of banking. When an airplane banks, the lift force which normally acts at right angles to the wings is tilted to provide both a vertical component, counteracting the weight of the aircraft, and a horizontal component, which accelerates the airplane in the direction of the bank. If the airplane banks to the left, this horizontal component of the lift forces the airplane to turn to the left.
In addition to banking, another factor could be the effect of wind on the aircraft's movement, a concept identified in Figure 3.41. Wind can blow the aircraft off course and the pilot must bank into the wind to compensate, causing a left turn if the wind comes from the right side. Lastly, engineered design elements such as propeller torque and P-factor in single-engine propeller aircraft can create a tendency for the airplane to turn left under power.
It's also worth mentioning Newton's first law of motion which explains that an object in motion tends to stay in motion in a straight line unless acted on by an external force. As applied to airplanes, this explains why a horizontal component of lift is necessary to change the direction of the aircraft, causing it to turn instead of moving straight forward.