Writing last month’s Aftermath column about a fatal accident that resulted from the pilot’s mishandling of a balked landing, I reflected that I had never assessed the behavior of my own airplane in that maneuver. As I have said before, my idea of flight testing is to take trips and wait for something strange to happen, and as luck would have it, I have never yet had a balked landing in Melmoth 2.
Why You Should Get to Know Your Airplane at its Worst
Key Takeaways:
- Mishandling a balked landing (go-around), particularly by retracting flaps before gaining sufficient speed, is a dangerous maneuver that can lead to stalls and accidents.
- Aircraft behavior during go-arounds varies significantly across types, exhibiting complex and often sudden pitch and trim changes due to aerodynamic factors like increased wing camber and downwash effects on the tail.
- Pilots are strongly advised to practice go-arounds at a safe altitude to understand their specific airplane's unique reactions to sudden power and configuration changes, as well as their own responses to this critical, low-speed maneuver.
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