It’s important to know how and when to perform a go-around. [Credit: Meg Godlewski]
Key Takeaways:
Go-arounds are critical safety maneuvers for pilots, often more important than landing itself, to prevent accidents stemming from unstable approaches or hazardous conditions.
Pilots should proactively execute a go-around when facing issues like unstable approaches, landing gear problems, runway obstacles, or misidentification of the landing surface, rather than trying to salvage a bad landing.
Proper go-around execution requires specific techniques, including immediate power application with right rudder to counteract left-turning tendencies, incremental flap retraction, and maintaining control through trimming, all of which should be regularly practiced.
This is what my instructor said when he taught me how to do a go-around, also known as a balked landing. Knowing when not to land is more important than how to land because trying to salvage a bad landing often leads to an accident.
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Meg Godlewski has been an aviation journalist for more than 24 years and a CFI for more than 20 years. If she is not flying or teaching aviation, she is writing about it. Meg is a founding member of the Pilot Proficiency Center at EAA AirVenture and excels at the application of simulation technology to flatten the learning curve. Follow Meg on Twitter @2Lewski.
![It’s important to know how to do a go-around. [Credit: Meg Godlewski]](https://www.flyingmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/VFR-into-IFR-smoke-scaled-e1681249141756.jpg)
