Go-arounds- how common?
Apologies whilst I hijack this thread (oops, maybe not the best choice of words), but how many out there have experienced a rejected takeoff?
In maybe 400 flights, I once suffered the ignominy during what should have been a domestic flight in Tunisia. The 737 spooled upto V1, rotated, then promptly smacked back down hard and began to vibrate like hell under severe braking. I dont think I was alone in thinking we were crashing.
Those up front presumably knew they had a problem and were hoping it would disappear, we taxied back round and tried it all again with the same result!
Back to the terminal, and we finally got away at the third attempt after a 2 hour fix of some issue with the nose gear. Happy days
Cooch
In maybe 400 flights, I once suffered the ignominy during what should have been a domestic flight in Tunisia. The 737 spooled upto V1, rotated, then promptly smacked back down hard and began to vibrate like hell under severe braking. I dont think I was alone in thinking we were crashing.
Those up front presumably knew they had a problem and were hoping it would disappear, we taxied back round and tried it all again with the same result!
Back to the terminal, and we finally got away at the third attempt after a 2 hour fix of some issue with the nose gear. Happy days
Cooch
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: yes
Posts: 174
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Not that common. As a GA pilot with skydivers yes a few times mostly my mistake.
But as a pax once only. Madrid on an already delayed flight. A go around. I swore realising I was going to miss my connection but realised I was scaring the lady beside me. I apologised explaining that most likely it was an aircraft slow to clear the runway. One of the pilots came on the rt and confirmed that so I looked good.
Anyway when I eventually met my friend who happened to be a flight attendant training to be a pilot. She told me that she had only one experience of a go around. Which surprised me. But it is rare and frankly no big deal.
If anything proof of the safety of airline flying.
But as a pax once only. Madrid on an already delayed flight. A go around. I swore realising I was going to miss my connection but realised I was scaring the lady beside me. I apologised explaining that most likely it was an aircraft slow to clear the runway. One of the pilots came on the rt and confirmed that so I looked good.
Anyway when I eventually met my friend who happened to be a flight attendant training to be a pilot. She told me that she had only one experience of a go around. Which surprised me. But it is rare and frankly no big deal.
If anything proof of the safety of airline flying.
Paxing All Over The World
I do sometimes feel rather cheated! I do hope to experience one before I close my log book. We could also branch the discussion into:
Have you experienced a Rejected Take Off (RTO)? These are even rarer and happen when some aspect of the aircraft is shown to not be quite right and the flight crew brake the aircraft before take off. This usually entails a slow taxi back down to the start of the runway and, sometimes, a further wait if in sunny climes and the brakes need longer to cool off.
I have not had one, although saw one once when seeing my grandmother off on a flight. Communicating with her later, she said, that she thought they always did that ... I recall it was JNB in the early 1970s and the craft was the magnificent Super VC-10.
Have you experienced a Rejected Take Off (RTO)? These are even rarer and happen when some aspect of the aircraft is shown to not be quite right and the flight crew brake the aircraft before take off. This usually entails a slow taxi back down to the start of the runway and, sometimes, a further wait if in sunny climes and the brakes need longer to cool off.
I have not had one, although saw one once when seeing my grandmother off on a flight. Communicating with her later, she said, that she thought they always did that ... I recall it was JNB in the early 1970s and the craft was the magnificent Super VC-10.
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Beyond the Blue Horizon
Age: 63
Posts: 1,250
Received 144 Likes
on
89 Posts
Paxboy
Have had two of those. One at JFK with LH A340, who aborted due to another A/C trying to cross active runway, and one at LHR with BA on 747 for same the same reason. Both taxied back and had breaks checked and time to cool and off we went again.
Cheers
Mr Mac
Have had two of those. One at JFK with LH A340, who aborted due to another A/C trying to cross active runway, and one at LHR with BA on 747 for same the same reason. Both taxied back and had breaks checked and time to cool and off we went again.
Cheers
Mr Mac
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: England
Posts: 286
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
but how many out there have experienced a rejected takeoff?
Happened at midnight in Cairo - so I thought: that is us stuffed for the night. But, in fairness to Egyptair they had us on a replacement AC and underway in just over an hour.
EG
I had a rejected take off about 2 years ago from Calgary to LHR flight. BA dreamliner, trundling down the taxiway turns on to runway, power on and then power off and more trundling and stopped.
we sat for a couple of minutes then pilot came on and aplogised for rejecting take off because of instrument indicator problems (I think) which was the first I was aware of a problem. We were parked just off the runway while they sorted it out. After a few minutes whatever was the problem was fixed and we trundled back and took off.
The worrying thing was I could hear the stewardess behind us (I was in last row) and she was extremely worried asking her colleagues for reassurance. Got back safe so non event?
we sat for a couple of minutes then pilot came on and aplogised for rejecting take off because of instrument indicator problems (I think) which was the first I was aware of a problem. We were parked just off the runway while they sorted it out. After a few minutes whatever was the problem was fixed and we trundled back and took off.
The worrying thing was I could hear the stewardess behind us (I was in last row) and she was extremely worried asking her colleagues for reassurance. Got back safe so non event?
I had two in one flight coming into LCY. In both cases the wind changed at the last moment and you cannot land at that airport with a tailwind. We diverted to STN and landed successfully.
A go around many years ago at Kai Tak was interesting. Visibility was too poor for the pilot to see the checker board but we got in a few minutes later over the harbour - I don't think that it sees many approaches. I was wondering for a while if we would divert to somewhere like Kaoshuing.
A go around many years ago at Kai Tak was interesting. Visibility was too poor for the pilot to see the checker board but we got in a few minutes later over the harbour - I don't think that it sees many approaches. I was wondering for a while if we would divert to somewhere like Kaoshuing.
Last edited by Peter47; 30th Mar 2019 at 10:37. Reason: Typo
Join Date: Jun 1999
Location: world
Posts: 3,424
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Although I had flown 10+ sectors prior, I began to log my passenger flights in 1963. Since then I have logged 2,187 flights, averaging just under 40 flights per annum. In all this time I experienced 1 aborted take off (at relatively low speed) in a Pan Am B747 in March 1971. It took until March 1999 before my first G/A, in a Delta B727 at Atlanta. The next was in April 2009, in a Brussels Airlines RJ-85 at Birmingham. The last was also at Birmingham in July 2017 in an Eurowings A320. All three G/As were due to preceding traffic not vacating the runway in time. So, 3 G/As in 2,187 flights = 0.137% of my total flights.
Many GAs at the old Turnhouse,on the short runway with fog. Quite often in the Vanguard, which was scary in hindsight after the GA crash/stall attributed to instrument lag. After two or three GAs, they would divert to Prestwick and bus us back through the fog. FType would hear my midnight standby plane heading west, put out the light, and go to sleep.
Once, in the USoA, I was listening in to the comms between plane and tower as we headed down the runway after two RTOs, "Third time lucky, flight xxx!" We weren't. Hold door locking problem.
Once, in the USoA, I was listening in to the comms between plane and tower as we headed down the runway after two RTOs, "Third time lucky, flight xxx!" We weren't. Hold door locking problem.
Last Sunday (I think, could have been Monday) I was at the Ibis Airport Hotel in Brisbane, AUS, idly watching aircraft movements out of the window, when I saw a plane throw away a landing and go around. Sizeable plane, couldn't pick but B787/777 sizeish, red tail with yellow swirls. Saw the plane land later and taxi past to go the the International Terminal, but didn't recognise the livery. A Chinese airline maybe. (Hotel windows were quite dirty, must rememeber to send a note to management).
No idea why the pilots threw away the landing, conditions seemed quite benign - plane had been on standard approach so should have been lined up?? They were quite close to the threshold, and only a couple of hundred feet above ground, so it was a surprise to see the GA. Anyway, wahtever the reason, it ended up uneventful, which is always a good outcome.
No idea why the pilots threw away the landing, conditions seemed quite benign - plane had been on standard approach so should have been lined up?? They were quite close to the threshold, and only a couple of hundred feet above ground, so it was a surprise to see the GA. Anyway, wahtever the reason, it ended up uneventful, which is always a good outcome.
Last edited by Recidivist; 28th Mar 2019 at 19:47. Reason: Typo
I was once on a Lufthansa A346 and a couple of minutes after take off there was clearly something not quite right. Slight vibration, just odd. Anyway the pilot announced that the nose wheel doors hadn't closed so he was going to lower and raise the wheels a couple of times otherwise we would have to return. The attempt failed and after about an hour in the air we returned to FRA. The flight was only 3.5 hours so the plane was light and there was no issue with dumping fuel or a heavy landing.
Turned out there was a loose bolt, it was fixed quickly and we were airborne again within 45 minutes of landing. I have suffered worse delays without a technical issue.
The best bit was the guy near us who had gone to sleep with an eyemask on. When we returned to FRA, he woke up and oblivious to the announcements assumed we had landed at our destination..
Turned out there was a loose bolt, it was fixed quickly and we were airborne again within 45 minutes of landing. I have suffered worse delays without a technical issue.
The best bit was the guy near us who had gone to sleep with an eyemask on. When we returned to FRA, he woke up and oblivious to the announcements assumed we had landed at our destination..
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: London/Southern Ireland
Posts: 12
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I have had three go arounds as a passenger, two in Cork and one in Dublin. Both due to poor visibility and crosswinds, both in the last year where I only flew maybe 10 times.
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: where the north starts
Posts: 104
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
30 years of flying on average 6 times a year to somewhere on business, plus about 60 personal round trips so say about 500 sectors. Only ever one go-around - at Edinburgh on Easyjet on a very stormy night. I was hoping we might get diverted to Newcastle as the Toon were playing at home that evening, but no such luck and I had to go to my meeting after all.
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: UK
Posts: 41
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Yep.
As a part of aviation, they are a non-event. Push the power up, and you've simply converted the approach into that part of flight that happens just after take off. They are not dangerous, nor are they in any way reportable. Just remember just why a go around is being done; it always happens because the option to continue has expired and they are ALWAYS the safest choice.
They can feel a lot more 'uncomfortable' or violent than they really are as they happen after a period of low power, speed and nose attitude. The average newspapers' description of passengers talking about a go around always sounds like they were in an F18...yet exactly the same performance an hour earlier at take off gets no comment.....because it was expected!
There's generally more going on aft of the cabin door than in the cockpit.
As a part of aviation, they are a non-event. Push the power up, and you've simply converted the approach into that part of flight that happens just after take off. They are not dangerous, nor are they in any way reportable. Just remember just why a go around is being done; it always happens because the option to continue has expired and they are ALWAYS the safest choice.
They can feel a lot more 'uncomfortable' or violent than they really are as they happen after a period of low power, speed and nose attitude. The average newspapers' description of passengers talking about a go around always sounds like they were in an F18...yet exactly the same performance an hour earlier at take off gets no comment.....because it was expected!
There's generally more going on aft of the cabin door than in the cockpit.
When was the last time on a sim check that you practiced a 2 engine go-around? We practice the single engine go-around time and again, until we can do it with our eyes closed. But I think that 2 engine go-arounds do have a history of catching people out. Two UK registered examples spring to mind, one in to Chambery and another in to Bournemouth, thankfully both recovered in the nick of time:
https://assets.publishing.service.go...009_G-THOF.pdf
https://assets.publishing.service.go...CELC_12-10.pdf
Not to mention the FlyDubai in Rostov which had a far more tragic ending.
A rhetorical question, but one that has been doing the rounds at our company recently; what is more dangerous, continuing or going around from an unstable approach when you were 5 knots too fast at the "gate"?
Close to 1600 flights, >4 million km, 3 go-arounds. QF SYDAKL 2 missed approaches due to minima, 3rd time lucky otherwise back to SYD (that was flying down for Dad's funeral...). LH FRASFO, aircraft on runway. NZ NSNAKL, ditto. Couple of diversions. All in all, a pretty quiet time. (Apart from the time someone sleepwalked and tried to open 3R in flight.....
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Here
Posts: 318
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Only one and quiet recently. Thai Airways A380 just about to land at Heathrow. We must have been very close to landing (night time), I don't know the technical term for it but the engines had gone very quiet and clearly we had pitched nose up (flaring?). Next there there was an almighty roar from the engines, tremendous sense of 'push back' into my seat and off we went back into the sky. About 30 seconds later the pilot came on the intercom and apologised saying the runway wasn't clear. All handled very professionally as you would have expected, no cause for concern from any of the passengers that I could see. Quite impressive actually to feel the power surge from next to nothing to being pushed back into the seat.
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Hampshire
Age: 76
Posts: 821
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I watched an American Airlines 777 abandon his landing at Heathrow today. I had a grandstand seat as the aircraft was virtually above me and about 1,000 yards from touchdown. A nice, smooth increase in power, up with the wheels and a quite decent rate of climb up uo 3,000 ft. All very smooth and civilised and i didn't hear a single scream from the cabin!
G’day Guys,
I retired a couple of years ago after a military transport career followed by nearly thirty years of airline flying and amassed around 22,500 hours and 9000 flight sectors over a period of 43 years.
During that time I experienced less than 10 missed approaches due to various reasons, weather related, blocked runways, other aeroplanes on a parallel approach getting too close and once a fight, between passengers, broke out on our final approach. Some of those missed approaches resulted in diversions but the rest were followed by a subsequent approach and landing.
In a similar vein I have only experienced a handful of rejected takeoffs, less than five, one due to a passing flock of birds crossing the runway in front of us, lucky it was daytime, others due to technical reasons. None were caused by engine failure.
I experienced far more of both the above events during training sessions in the flight simulator which was certainly good preparation for the above.
Cheers,
BH.
I retired a couple of years ago after a military transport career followed by nearly thirty years of airline flying and amassed around 22,500 hours and 9000 flight sectors over a period of 43 years.
During that time I experienced less than 10 missed approaches due to various reasons, weather related, blocked runways, other aeroplanes on a parallel approach getting too close and once a fight, between passengers, broke out on our final approach. Some of those missed approaches resulted in diversions but the rest were followed by a subsequent approach and landing.
In a similar vein I have only experienced a handful of rejected takeoffs, less than five, one due to a passing flock of birds crossing the runway in front of us, lucky it was daytime, others due to technical reasons. None were caused by engine failure.
I experienced far more of both the above events during training sessions in the flight simulator which was certainly good preparation for the above.
Cheers,
BH.
