diff --git a/_bmad-output/implementation-artifacts/3-2-automatic-recovery-on-fresh-decode.md b/_bmad-output/implementation-artifacts/3-2-automatic-recovery-on-fresh-decode.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..766df9f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/_bmad-output/implementation-artifacts/3-2-automatic-recovery-on-fresh-decode.md
@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+# Story 3.2: Automatic Recovery on Fresh Decode
+
+Status: review
+
+## Story
+
+As a user whose RTL-SDR has recovered,
+I want the display to automatically return to normal filled aircraft rendering on the next successful fetch,
+So that recovery requires no intervention.
+
+## Acceptance Criteria
+
+AC1: **Given** the display is in stale state **When** `HttpFetcher.fetch()` returns a non-empty aircraft list **Then** all fetched aircraft have `is_stale=False` and are drawn with normal filled icons
+
+AC2: **Given** the display has recovered **When** the next render cycle runs **Then** no stale outline rendering occurs for the recovered aircraft
+
+AC3: **Given** a stale-then-recovery sequence **When** `FileFixtureFetcher` first returns `[]` (simulating stale) then returns a populated list **Then** the first cycle produces stale aircraft and the second produces normal fresh aircraft
+
+## Tasks / Subtasks
+
+- [ ] Task 1: Add recovery tests to `tests/test_stale.py` (AC: #1, #2, #3)
+  - [ ] 1.1 Add `test_recovery_after_timeout_returns_fresh`
+  - [ ] 1.2 Add `test_recovery_after_empty_returns_fresh`
+  - [ ] 1.3 Verify no code changes needed in `main.py` or `aircraft.py` — recovery is already correct
+
+- [ ] Task 2: Run quality gates
+  - [ ] 2.1 `python -m pytest tests/` — all tests pass
+  - [ ] 2.2 `python -m ruff check .` — zero violations
+  - [ ] 2.3 `python -m ruff format --check .` — no formatting issues
+
+## Implementation Notes
+
+### Recovery logic already correct from story 3-1
+
+The `_run_one_cycle()` stale detection logic in `main.py` is:
+
+```python
+try:
+    fresh = fetcher.fetch()
+except requests.Timeout:
+    log.warning("fetch timeout — using stale data")
+    fresh = []
+    stale_needed = True
+else:
+    stale_needed = (len(fresh) == 0 and len(last_aircraft) > 0)
+
+if stale_needed:
+    aircraft_list = [dataclasses.replace(a, is_stale=True) for a in last_aircraft]
+else:
+    aircraft_list = fresh
+```
+
+When `len(fresh) > 0`, `stale_needed` is `False` and `aircraft_list = fresh`. All `Aircraft` instances from a fresh fetch default `is_stale=False`, so recovery is automatic — no code changes required.
+
+### No changes to `main.py` or `aircraft.py`
+
+Recovery is already handled correctly. The only deliverable is two additional tests in `tests/test_stale.py` confirming the recovery path for both the timeout-then-fresh and empty-then-fresh scenarios.
+
+### Files changed
+
+| File | Change |
+|---|---|
+| `tests/test_stale.py` | Add `test_recovery_after_timeout_returns_fresh` and `test_recovery_after_empty_returns_fresh` |
diff --git a/_bmad-output/implementation-artifacts/sprint-status.yaml b/_bmad-output/implementation-artifacts/sprint-status.yaml
index e27a333..1f0484a 100644
--- a/_bmad-output/implementation-artifacts/sprint-status.yaml
+++ b/_bmad-output/implementation-artifacts/sprint-status.yaml
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@
 # - Dev moves story to 'review', then runs code-review (fresh context, different LLM recommended)
 
 generated: 2026-04-22
-last_updated: 2026-04-22  # 2-1 done, 2-2 done, 2-3 done, 2-4 done, 2-5 done, 2-6 done, 2-7 done, epic-2 done, epic-3 in-progress, 3-1 done
+last_updated: 2026-04-22  # 2-1 done, 2-2 done, 2-3 done, 2-4 done, 2-5 done, 2-6 done, 2-7 done, epic-2 done, epic-3 in-progress, 3-1 done, 3-2 review
 project: planeMapper
 project_key: NOKEY
 tracking_system: file-system
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ development_status:
   # Epic 3: Stale Data Resilience
   epic-3: in-progress
   3-1-stale-state-detection-and-dimmed-display: done
-  3-2-automatic-recovery-on-fresh-decode: backlog
+  3-2-automatic-recovery-on-fresh-decode: review
   epic-3-retrospective: optional
 
   # Epic 4: Reset & Reconfiguration
diff --git a/tests/test_stale.py b/tests/test_stale.py
index c561a81..dda4420 100644
--- a/tests/test_stale.py
+++ b/tests/test_stale.py
@@ -69,3 +69,35 @@ def test_stale_cycle_completes_without_crash(renderer: Renderer) -> None:
     # Should complete without any exception
     result = _run_one_cycle(renderer, mock_fetcher, display, last)
     assert isinstance(result, list)
+
+
+def test_recovery_after_timeout_returns_fresh(renderer: Renderer) -> None:
+    display = NullDisplay()
+    last = [_make_aircraft()]
+    mock_fetcher = MagicMock()
+    # Cycle 1: timeout → stale
+    mock_fetcher.fetch.side_effect = requests.Timeout
+    stale_result = _run_one_cycle(renderer, mock_fetcher, display, last)
+    assert stale_result[0].is_stale is True
+    # Cycle 2: fresh fetch → recovery
+    fresh_aircraft = [_make_aircraft(icao="DEF456")]
+    mock_fetcher.fetch.side_effect = None
+    mock_fetcher.fetch.return_value = fresh_aircraft
+    recovered = _run_one_cycle(renderer, mock_fetcher, display, stale_result)
+    assert len(recovered) == 1
+    assert recovered[0].is_stale is False
+    assert recovered[0].icao == "DEF456"
+
+
+def test_recovery_after_empty_returns_fresh(renderer: Renderer) -> None:
+    display = NullDisplay()
+    last = [_make_aircraft()]
+    mock_fetcher = MagicMock()
+    # Cycle 1: empty → stale
+    mock_fetcher.fetch.return_value = []
+    stale_result = _run_one_cycle(renderer, mock_fetcher, display, last)
+    assert stale_result[0].is_stale is True
+    # Cycle 2: non-empty → recovery
+    mock_fetcher.fetch.return_value = [_make_aircraft(icao="GHI789")]
+    recovered = _run_one_cycle(renderer, mock_fetcher, display, stale_result)
+    assert recovered[0].is_stale is False