Going Around

It has been said that every approach to a landing—whether from the VFR traffic pattern or an ILS, and everything in between, should be treated as a a go-around situation. If conditions are conducive to actually, you know, landing, then by all means do so. But be prepared—spring-loaded, some advise—to execute a go-around balked landing or rejected landing, whatever the term du jour is. That’s all well and good, but there are two problems. The first is determining when to go around. The other and larger problem is what happens when pilots make that decision. Sadly, they often mishandle the maneuver and wind up in the weeds next to the runway or prang it onto the pavement just past the threshold.

Editorial Staff

Thursday, May 24, 2012 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Pilots should adopt a "spring-loaded" mindset, treating every landing approach as a potential go-around, and once the decision to go around is made, it should be firm and not reversed.
The execution of a go-around requires a deliberate, sequential approach: first, smoothly apply power to arrest the descent and begin a climb; second, establish and maintain an appropriate climb attitude; and third, carefully retract configuration elements, prioritizing partial flap retraction before raising the landing gear.
Incorrect sequencing of power, attitude, and configuration changes during a go-around is a common cause of accidents, emphasizing the need for pilots to practice these precise steps to ensure successful execution.

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That’s all well and good, but there are two problems. The first is determining when to go around. The other and larger problem is what happens when pilots make that decision. Sadly, they often mishandle the maneuver and wind up in the weeds next to the runway or prang it onto the pavement just past the threshold. The accident record is littered with examples of go-arounds that didn’t work, for whatever reasons. Let’s try to demystify some of this, and provide a set of procedures which should suit almost everyone, IFR or not.