Another snowflake traumatized by routine go-around

DaleB said:
Weird. In all the years I've been flying commercial, I don't recall a single go-around, ever.
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Had one going into Vancouver CA last year. I could see it coming on FF as they vectored jets around and thought "that doesn't look like IFR spacing" sure enough, go out for another lap.

Ive only had one high speed abort though. OHare back in the 90's and I'm looking out as we start the roll and see another tube on the intersecting runway and thought "that's not going to work" and yep, we ended up aborting and stopping prior to the intersection and back into the conga line. At least the brakes had a chance to cool I suppose.
 
luvflyin said:
Yeah to all the above. But I'm wondering about something. The lights going out. Is that typical. Turn off the cabin
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I don't know if it's typical, but when the commercial flight I was on had to go around due to the plane in front of us not being able to vacate the runway fast enough, they turned the cabin lights off as well. Maybe it's a max power thing? The guy who freaked out about the go-around in the original article would have hated to be on that flight. We were in a hold for over twenty minutes with a LOT of other airliners, waiting for the snowplow to clear the runway at MSP, and when we did land, it was obviously pretty slippery. I was just glad we were able to land instead of having to divert to Fargo.
 
DaleB said:
Weird. In all the years I've been flying commercial, I don't recall a single go-around, ever.
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It's not common. It happened to me once, in Germany. There was a vehicle on the runway causing the go-around.
I also had a diversion, once, in 2007. We were over Hudson Bay and I noticed the shadows changing direction. I pulled out a hand-held GPS and saw we were going south. We landed at Detroit and I noticed a lot of fire vehicles near the runway. Nothing bad happened except I got to Europe a bit later. I've no idea why the diversion.
 
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That boy in the video needs to put down the soy, eat a steak, grow some balls, and never breed.


Best one i ever had wasn't a go around, but should have been.
Twin Otter sight seeing tour about 15 years ago.
Then GF and I went out for a little sight seeing, uneventful take off and probably 30 minutes in the air. We are coming back to land and I lost count of how many times we bounced.
The pilot was so embarrassed, and as we all got off the plane he shook every passengers hand and apologized.
When I got to him, i said no worries man, it was nice of you to participate in bring your child to work day and let him land.
He laughed, and wished me well.

That guy probably has 10,000 great landings under his belt, but people will only remember his handful of bad ones.
 
I've been on board for several, one was memorable. I was in a Continental 727 landing at IAH in typical late winter fog, and looking out the window couldn't see a thing but the landing light reflecting off of the clag.

About the same time I spotted a strobe flash, the engines throttled up and there was a noticeable positive pitchup. Remember how the 727 had that big satisfying clunk when the gear came up? I couldn't help but grin.
 
Cap'n Jack said:
I also had a diversion, once, in 2007. We were over Hudson Bay and I noticed the shadows changing direction. I pulled out a hand-held GPS and saw we were going south. We landed at Detroit and I noticed a lot of fire vehicles near the runway. Nothing bad happened except I got to Europe a bit later. I've no idea why the diversion.
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I have ridden through several diversions. The funniest one was FRA - IAD. There was snow storms predicted in the DC area. So they has the moving map displays on the bulkheads. We notice the course line now points to Cleveland. A bit later the Capt says there is a "chance" we might divert, but they are still watching the weather. About 45 minutes later, he comes on and says we are diverting to Cleveland. DUH Hey dude, you reprogrammed the FMS for Cleveland almost an hour ago. :D
 
A go around in an airliner is anything but routine.
 
One in April this year at LAS. Winds had us go around to another runway. I was glad as it got us some pretty cool sight seeing that we wouldn't have gotten otherwise.

Now dealing with the wind at street level the next two days was another story.
Messed up mah hair!

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I have yet to be on a 121 go 'round. Been in a hold, but never a go 'round.
 
My only missed in an airliner was flying into Plymouth England. They didn't even try a 2nd time, just went to the next destination and we had a 4 hour bus ride back to Plymouth. Apparently, that wasn't particularly rare for that route.
 
Had a go-around in a 737 at BWI once for a cell that moved over the airport… but then we flew right through it? We got 4 right turns and landed 15 minutes later.
 
I remember a go-around in Atlanta one foggy January night in 1991. It was on an Eastern L-1011, just two weeks before the airline shut down, so nobody was in a particularly good mood. Plus, EAL mechanics were picketing when we boarded in San Juan PR. Departure from SJU was two hours late, and that plus the at-minimums weather at ATL, meant there was little chance of making our connection to LAX. The go-around seemed to seal it.

CPT came on the PA and explained we'd gotten a bit too close to the airplane ahead, so back into the daisy chain we went.

Postscript: As it turned out, they held the connecting flight for us. As we settled in aboard the EAL A300, a fellow pax from our SJU flight asked the attendant for a pillow. When told there weren't any, the passenger grumbled a complaint. The attendant wheeled and snapped, "Sir, we waited two hours for you!"

Without missing a beat, the gentleman quietly replied, "No, ma'am - you waited two hours for your airplane."
 
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Go arounds are no the same as missed approaches. Just pointing that out.

I have been on two missed approach situations. First was a 727 going into SAT one night. The GS was out of service and the localizer minimums were not low enough.

The second was a 747 going into SFO. As we went missed, I looked out and could barely see the inboard engine. We went to San Jose, landed, got some fuel, waited on board for about 45 minutes and then flew back and landed at SFO.
 
Pinecone said:
Go arounds are no the same as missed approaches. Just pointing that out.
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I wasn't up front, so I'm unsure why the throttles were shoved forward and the gear clunked into the wells.

:D
 
Pinecone said:
Go arounds are no the same as missed approaches. Just pointing that out.

I have been on two missed approach situations. First was a 727 going into SAT one night. The GS was out of service and the localizer minimums were not low enough.

The second was a 747 going into SFO. As we went missed, I looked out and could barely see the inboard engine. We went to San Jose, landed, got some fuel, waited on board for about 45 minutes and then flew back and landed at SFO.
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We treat them the same. Both are ugly.
 
3393RP said:
I wasn't up front, so I'm unsure why the throttles were shoved forward and the gear clunked into the wells.

:D
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Throttles in the Airbus should be, at least initially shoved to the TOGA position in order to sequence the FMS to GA mode. Good practice is to pull the throttles back quickly (unless close to the ground), but there may be an initial radical pitch up.
A true go around in the Bus *can* be ugly.
 
Kritchlow said:
Throttles in the Airbus should be, at least initially shoved to the TOGA position in order to sequence the FMS to GA mode. Good practice is to pull the throttles back quickly (unless close to the ground), but there may be an initial radical pitch up.
A true go around in the Bus *can* be ugly.
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This had me thinking about Palm 90. Numbers on the panel, or maybe more accurately described as needles pointing at numbers, were saying you’re at the right throttle position. But the airplane was sinking, not climbing. Yet throttles were not pushed forward. Seems to me, if ya gotta go around, ya oughta firewall the throttles, get outta there, and figure out the numbers, be it on the gauges or the FMS, later.
 
luvflyin said:
This had me thinking about Palm 90. Numbers on the panel, or maybe more accurately described as needles pointing at numbers, were saying you’re at the right throttle position. But the airplane was sinking, not climbing. Yet throttles were not pushed forward. Seems to me, if ya gotta go around, ya oughta firewall the throttles, get outta there, and figure out the numbers, be it on the gauges or the FMS, later.
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That is an interesting point. Palm 90 would have been saved, had the pilots recognized that they were simply not getting the full power their EPR indications told them they should be getting, and just shoved the “throttles” to the stops. I assume the current crop of FADEC controls have some manner of override to accomplish this - right?
 
I was on a SWA flight going in to SMF years ago that did a go around. Considering how badly the plane was being tossed around it wasn't surprising. I don't recall it being a particularly big deal to the rest of the passengers.
 
If a go around scares people, I imagine those people are scared by a lot of things.
Some people are drama queens for the attention.
The boy in the video sure seems like one, or he wouldn't be going to the news about it.
Whenever someone runs to the media over something, it automatically makes me believe that they are a drama queen.
Hell I got stabbed and didn't run to the media.
 
Kritchlow said:
Throttles in the Airbus should be, at least initially shoved to the TOGA position in order to sequence the FMS to GA mode. Good practice is to pull the throttles back quickly (unless close to the ground), but there may be an initial radical pitch up.
A true go around in the Bus *can* be ugly.
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I've never flown an Airbus.

On Boeing, the first press of TOGA sets thrust for ~2000fpm climb. A second press of TOGO sets GA thrust. Very little pitch up input is required.

At previous airlines, I'm on my sixth, the go-around could be a bit of a cluster as our only practice or review was at sim events. Here, we brief the G.A. procedure at least once per day. In my experience, that makes a very big difference as the calls come out easily from that familiarity. I've probably had about one actual G.A. per year here and they've all gone much more smoothly than at previous airlines.

luvflyin said:
This had me thinking about Palm 90. Numbers on the panel, or maybe more accurately described as needles pointing at numbers, were saying you’re at the right throttle position.
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The EPRs showed takeoff thrust but the N1, EGT, N2, and Fuel Flows all showed reduced thrust. Those went unnoticed.

The probe heat control was modified after that accident. It was the crew forgetting the probe heat which allowed the probes to ice up leading to the bad EPR readings. Now, there is no OFF setting, just AUTO and ON. In AUTO, when the first engine is started, both probe heat systems turn on. After engine start, we also move the switches to ON.
 
I was involved in two go arounds the other day in the cherokee 180 at inverness.. man its really rough over rwy 19.
 
luvflyin said:
This had me thinking about Palm 90. Numbers on the panel, or maybe more accurately described as needles pointing at numbers, were saying you’re at the right throttle position. But the airplane was sinking, not climbing. Yet throttles were not pushed forward. Seems to me, if ya gotta go around, ya oughta firewall the throttles, get outta there, and figure out the numbers, be it on the gauges or the FMS, later.
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If you are close to the ground I whole heartedly agree. That said, if you TOGA thrust the Bus you will get a radical pitch change quickly. If it’s not needed, most pull the power back after sequencing the box.
 
Larry in TN said:
I've never flown an Airbus.

On Boeing, the first press of TOGA sets thrust for ~2000fpm climb. A second press of TOGO sets GA thrust. Very little pitch up input is required.

At previous airlines, I'm on my sixth, the go-around could be a bit of a cluster as our only practice or review was at sim events. Here, we brief the G.A. procedure at least once per day. In my experience, that makes a very big difference as the calls come out easily from that familiarity. I've probably had about one actual G.A. per year here and they've all gone much more smoothly than at previous airlines.


The EPRs showed takeoff thrust but the N1, EGT, N2, and Fuel Flows all showed reduced thrust. Those went unnoticed.

The probe heat control was modified after that accident. It was the crew forgetting the probe heat which allowed the probes to ice up leading to the bad EPR readings. Now, there is no OFF setting, just AUTO and ON. In AUTO, when the first engine is started, both probe heat systems turn on. After engine start, we also move the switches to ON.
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Yeah, unlike most airplanes the button on the side of the thrust levers is not a TOGA button. It is auto thrust disconnect.
 
I doubt that very few pilots in a go around situation are using less than 100% of rated power.
 
Kritchlow said:
Yeah, unlike most airplanes the button on the side of the thrust levers is not a TOGA button. It is auto thrust disconnect.
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It's like most (all) Boeings that I've flown.

Piper Dreaming said:
I doubt that very few pilots in a go around situation are using less than 100% of rated power.
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We don't. It's not needed and it would make the maneuver more aggressive than it needs to be. A smooth transition to a climb is what we want.
 
Sounds like today's airliners have more power available than typically needed, yes?
 
Bob Noel said:
Sounds like today's airliners have more power available than typically needed, yes?
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Well, considering that a two engine jet needs to produce enough thrust to go around on one engine, two engines at max power thrust on take-off is really impressive. That is why reduced thrust take-offs are the rule rather than the exception.

Now, if a single engine go-around is necessary, well that is a horse of a different color.
 
Larry in TN said:
It's like most (all) Boeings that I've flown.


We don't. It's not needed and it would make the maneuver more aggressive than it needs to be. A smooth transition to a climb is what we want.
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And like you have never flown the Bus, I have never flown a Boeing.

We don’t have go around buttons. We must throw the levers forward, then pull them back.

The Bus (at least the 319,320,321), does not have auto throttles. We have auto thrust. Throttles do no move.
 
My only 121 go around was at LAX. Was listening on channel 9 and anticipated it. Landing traffic in front of us didn't exit fast enough. Bad for me was I still had a 2 hour drive home and it was past midnight thanks to earlier delays. That was a long day.
 
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