A319 and A320 Knowledge Skills Verification (KSV) Practice Exam

V2 is the takeoff safety speed. It is the minimum speed at which the airplane can continue the takeoff and climb safely with one engine inoperative after liftoff, ensuring the required obstacle clearance is maintained. This speed is chosen to provide enough thrust, control, and stall margin when an engine fails, so the aircraft can achieve a positive climb gradient on the remaining engine. It is higher than rotation speed because simply lifting off isn’t enough to guarantee safety if an engine were to fail; you must have a speed that ensures safe OEI performance. It’s not the decision speed (which is about abort versus continue) and not the approach speed (used for landing), so V2 is specifically tied to safe climb after takeoff under single-engine conditions.