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When Should you go Around by Ed Verville
Awhile back, I had a single- engine candidate on a checkride start his approach to landing at too steep of an angle. Instead of managing his airspeed for the steeper descent, he came in a little fast, distracting him from correcting for the crosswind. As he was just about ready to contact the runway, he was still in a crab and drifting across the runway. I had to take the controls and do a go-around before crashing. While debriefing and issuing a “Notice of Disapproval” for the unsatisfactory checkride, I asked the applicant why he did not just perform a go-around from such a poor approach without crosswind correction. He stated that he thought doing a go-around would
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make him look bad. I said it would not look nearly as bad as crashing an airplane would make him look. As a DPE, I would prefer to see someone go around rather than try to save an approach that will damage the airplane or worse.
As a jet examiner, I often see similar behavior in jets and f light simulators. It appears that many pilots are hesitant to perform a go-around on their own initiative. Some feel that they can “save” the landing or that they will lose face if they go around. However, pilots are very quick to execute a missed approach if triggered by the airplane “windshear” warning or if ATC directs an airplane to go around.
We also do not practice go-arounds very often or perform them during line f lying. If I have a great performing crew in a jet simulator session, I can usually show them the recorded video of a go-around and find several errors or omissions. In fact, while instructing in the Bombardier 600 series simulators, I have witnessed more than fifty students stall the airplane to the stick shaker or stick pusher during a missed approach. This is because most of my students were new to auto-throttles, and per aircraft limitations they had to be turned off for a missed approach. Otherwise, the auto-throttles would reduce the airspeed by retarding the throttles to idle and slowing to