Circling, And Missing

Runway layouts can make it easy to get confused or forget the missed approach course when circling to land.

Saturday, December 16, 2023 at 08:00 AM ET

Verified

There's an airport out there somewhere in the haze, but the runway layout can be confusing when there are multiple choices, offsets, parallels and intersections.

Key Takeaways:

Circling missed approaches are a distinct and often misunderstood procedure, differing significantly from straight-in missed approaches and posing challenges even for experienced pilots and instructors.
When executing a missed approach from a circle, pilots must immediately climb and turn toward the *intended landing runway* upon losing sight of it, then intercept the missed approach course associated with the *initial instrument procedure* flown.
Successful execution of circling approaches and their unique missed approach procedures relies heavily on extensive pre-flight study of airport diagrams, high situational awareness (especially in transitioning from instruments to visual flight), and dedicated practice.

See a mistake? Contact us.

Tell me how to go missed from a circling approach,” the designated pilot examiner (DPE) asked the pilot during the oral portion of their checkride. The applicant didn’t know the answer, so the frustrated DPE asked a CFI standing nearby, who worked at the flight school, and got the same answer: “Huh?”

After the increasingly frustrated DPE asked the third unlucky nearby pilot, also a CFI, who said he didn’t know either, the DPE got angry that no one in the whole wide world seemed to know how to execute a missed approach while circling to land.