Bizarre Go-Arounds
 

We were having a discussion the other day about strange reasons for pilots going around or being sent around. One that was mentioned was during single runway ops, a departing aircraft (already lined up) wanted 3 minutes wake separation after a landing aircraft. :D Hence the inevitable happened.

So let's hear your stories guys

A few years ago, a BA airbus on 1 mile final suddenly lifted its nose and stopped descending.

I asked the pilots to confirm they were going around, and the answer was:

"We don't know why, but it seems the aircraft decided to go around..."

Due to having a road for cars/pedestrians crossing the runway LXGB has had plenty of them. The one that sticks in the mind is a B737 going around due to the runway being covered in slippers. A morocan national was being deported, so friends decided to do a sit in protest on the runway. They were slowly removed by the MOD police but all the slippers they wore were not removed in time.:)

<<a departing aircraft (already lined up) wanted 3 minutes wake separation after a landing aircraft.>>

That's totally ridiculous as there is no such requirement. Wonder which airline?

That means; we messed up but don't want to admit it.... Airplanes, not even airbus, don't decide to go around....

As for the 3 minute delay due wake... There are some very strange people flying around. I have flown with people too, who suddenly come up with very strange ideas, even worse than this example. Initialy you think they are kidding but they mean it? :ugh:

bobwi,

you think an Airbus doen't have a mind of its own...........

like the one last week that started to hold at Vesan all by itself ( no the MCDU was correct!), or the aircraft that on an NPA ( managed) leveled off at stayed there. I was PIC on both..

T S:

Two possibilities, either you do not know what is going on; or those FMGS's need to be sent to Honeywell or Thales by your airline for investigation. No middle ground.

Airbuses do not have their own mind, they either do what you program them to do or what they are designed to do, if not; need to fix it. No ghosts here.

You also have MANY resources at Airbus to answer why that happened, and they are very happy to help; if you don't know these resources check with your boss, if he doesn't know; PM me.

G

HD, it depends if there's a displaced threshold!

I acknowledge how out-of-date my Part 1 is, A.. I thought 2 mins was the max in that situation, but the originator didn't mention a displaced threshold. It would have to be a hell of a displacement for the flight paths to cross too!!

From CAP493:

There's also another section for A380s (3 minutes).

I've certainly had aircraft ask me for 2 minutes before they depart from 09R at the full length behind a landing heavy. It is conceiveable that the airborne tracks will cross if the arrival lands slightly long.

"We hit the TOGA button by mistake" is the best one I've ever had. Although, apparently, it's more common than you'd think.

Mid 1980s, EGCC, R/W 24, 0500Z,(ish).
Go-around instructions issued to a Dan Air 1-11, due to "moo-cows on the runway".
(A small herd of cattle had assembled near the S264H radar, - abeam link 'C').

DH Mosquito forced to go-around at an Air Display when the visiting Lord Mayor's Cavalcade took a wrong turning and crossed the runway mid-point.

Jet Provost forced to go-around when the local hunt invaded the airfield, oblivious to their error.

The pilot of a Trident explained that he was going around because "there is an elderly lady stuck in the lavatory".

Not strictly a 'go-around' but ... at one of Her Majesty's international airports* in the Med, a scheduled flight gets to 10 mls Finals then asks to do "some orbits", no-can-do as there are several other a/c behind it in the stream.

So we offered an orbit of the island which was gratefully accepted. Company Ops (and perhaps from a bit higher up the food chain!) demanded to know why we had delayed the flight, a question we referred to the pilot.

"We haven't finished feeding the passengers yet" was the reply that we passed on :}.

* Well on lease/loan to her then, HD will know the airfield concerned.

FZ... If it's where I think, I still have the grey hairs....

1. Did the crew say "Tally Ho"?

2. Was she stuck there from Monday to Saturday?

Remember a funny from the early days (late 1960s) at ema. There had been an air display at the nearby Hucknall aerodrome and a whole gaggle of local light aircraft had flown there to see the show. They all came back in "loose" formation and the controller in the tower was known well to all. He cleared them all to do a run and break into the circuit. Weather was CAVOK etc. During this a Viscount calls up inbound from Belfast and requests a visual approach - controller says "Visual approach confirmed, clear to final number 12 !" All went well until the last C150 was almost landing and the Viscount was getting close in. Controller instructs C150 to clear right onto the grass after landing (meaning the grass strip rw 01/19) but the pilot clears immediate right onto the grass (but not the grass runway) and gets stuck with the tail hanging over the side of the runway - Viscount then has to go around!
Controller had quite a bit of explaining to do afterwards and his talk to the pilot of the C152 in the bar afterwards was priceless!

I was sent around once due to a pack of wild dogs wandering around the runway.... in driving rain and crap vis at night! How the guy in the tower saw them... I will never know! There was no surface movement radar either (before anyone asks) since this was in the sticks (Southern Eire!).

HD

Yup, that's the one! It was the 'flag carrier', hence the interest from on high!!

Hahaha.. But they did have the most enormous egg, chip and sausage butties at 10am!!

Mister Geezer, that happened to me, sort of.

Did a fam flight out of <shudder> Gatwick to <bigger shudder> Agadir many years ago, pilot elected to go around at Agadir after being 'cleared to land, be advised there is a dog on the runway and we are trying to catch him.'

Hope Fido escaped, otherwise he'd have kept some family fed for a week.:uhoh: