The cost of a go-around
 

I was at a busy international airport the other day, when I witnessed the following :

Mr Student PPL from the on-field flying school has just landed after a solo (maybe first or second solo?). Anyway, he completely misses his taxiway, so panics. He stops completely and just as he's turning round, ATC instruct him to vacate at the next exit.

During this time, a PIA 747 is on short finals. Needless to say, he has to go-around from maybe 300 feet agl.

What I was wondering was : What was the cost in monetary terms of the fuel used to carry out this missed approach?

PS The student was fine, though it did cost him an extra fiver on the brakes-off to brakes-on time!

A lot less than not carrying out a go-around!

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Breeding Per Dementia Unto Something Jolly Big, Toodle-pip

Yes indeed ! Who cares ?

The cost in fuel terms depends on how long it takes to land again, that depends on the track miles flown and weight, etc etc.

This sort of thing doesn't happen too often, but when it does it happens for a good reason and that is really all that matters.

How much you got?

I suspect you are looking for a serious answer so here goes. A 747 burns approx 9-10t of fuel per hour in the cruise. In the go-around and positioning around the airport a lot more power is required - perhaps twice the in-cruise fuel-burn rate. So for a 20 minute extension to flight time say around 6-7 tonnes of fuel. At $200 per tonne (roughly speaking) you would be talking around £1,000 for a typical go-around in fuel burn terms alone.

Please note that this is a very rough calculation.

6 to 7 tonnes is excessive, as is 20 minutes for most airports. For a 747 2 to 3 tonnes and 10 to 15 minutes would be the approximate figures.

As a wise man once said "If you find safety expensive, try an accident"

DT

Juliet November -

Quote of the day has just arrived!!

Nice one.