10/08 - Handling Aborted Landings

10/08 - Handling Aborted Landings

By Steve Krog

The need to discontinue a landing may arise at any point in the landing process, but the most critical go-around will usually be one started when you are very close to the ground. It is always better to initiate a go-around rather than touching down while drifting across the runway or making a hard drop-in landing from a high flare and roundout, or bounced landing.

Whether you’re a student pilot or a pro, you won’t always make perfect approaches and landings. Occasionally it may be advisable for safety reasons to discontinue the landing approach and make another approach under more favorable conditions. Therefore, it is important that you know what to do when this situation occurs.

An aborted landing (sometimes referred to as a rejected landing or a go-around) is most often required when dealing with any of the following conditions:

Getting extremely low on base leg to final leg turns
Overshooting the base to final leg turn
Unexpected hazards on the runway
Wake turbulence from a preceding aircraft
Overtaking another aircraft on approach to land
Remaining too high on the final approach to land
Drifting across the runway due to a cross wind

Regardless of the height above the ground at which it is begun, a safe go-around may be accomplished if an early decision is made, a sound plan is followed, and the procedure is performed properly. The earlier a potentially hazardous situation is recognized and the sooner the landing is rejected and the go-around started, the safer the procedure will be. A pilot in command should never wait until the last moment to make the decision for a go-around.

Before we analyze each of the conditions suggesting a go-around, we’ll first review the steps involved in making it a safe procedure.

When the decision is made to discontinue an approach and perform a go-around, we first immediately apply take off power. In doing so, however, be prepared for the nose to pitch upward due to the trim adjustment we’ve made in preparation for the landing. It may require a fair amount of forward pressure on the yoke or control stick. Additionally, we will also experience the effects of engine torque and propeller “P” factor, which will try to turn the airplane to the left (for most airplanes used in primary flight training). Most important here is to stop the decent and stabilize the airplane. We can quickly add some nose down trim while applying right rudder. Then we can initiate a climb in preparation for flying the traffic pattern and attempting another approach.

If your aircraft is equipped with flaps and the flaps have been extended for the landing, it is important that we carefully and slowly begin retracting the flaps after we have stabilized the aircraft. Some training aircraft equipped with flaps will not climb with the flaps extended, so we must retract them in order to initiate a climb. Caution must be employed while retracting the flaps. Depending on the aircraft’s altitude and airspeed, it is wise to retract the flaps in small increments allowing the aircraft to accelerate progressively as they are being raised. A sudden complete retraction of the flaps at a very low airspeed could cause a near complete loss of lift resulting in the aircraft settling onto the ground! After a positive rate of climb is established, allow the airplane to accelerate to the best rate of climb speed before the final flap retraction is made.

Now that the aircraft is stabilized and we’ve re-established in a proper climb attitude and speed, the procedure is then the same as if we were making a normal climb after takeoff.

To summarize the procedure for a go-around:

Apply full power
Apply forward pressure on the yoke or stick
Apply right rudder
Make an initial trim adjustment
Accelerate
Begin slowly retracting the flaps in increments
Achieve best rate of climb speed
Retract the remaining flaps
Make a fine tune adjustment to the trim
Assume a normal climb

Let’s look at the situations leading to a go-around. Recalling earlier lessons when we were flying the traffic pattern and first learning to land, we talked about properly flying the traffic pattern and flying it in the same manner every time. Remember, the more things we can keep constant in the pattern, the fewer things we’ll have to adjust for on the final approach to land.

Getting extremely low on base leg to final leg turns

Getting too low on the base leg to the final leg is usually the result of misjudging the wind velocity and its effect on your ground track and ground speed, or reducing the power too much. Either, without proper correction, will cause you to get too low. The first reaction is to raise the nose in an attempt to extend the flight path. However, this is where a power-off stall is most likely to occur so we don’t want to do that. Power must be added just to get to the runway. And when power is added it causes the nose to pitch upward reducing airspeed. If we push the nose down while adding power our airspeed begins increasing rapidly. Wow! It seems like everything that can go wrong is going wrong at this point. Rather can chasing both altitude and airspeed, let’s just make a go-around and try another approach, adjusting for the wind and power settings..

Overshooting the base to final leg turn

We discussed this situation when we were first flying the traffic pattern. The turn from base leg to final needs to be planned and executed so that when rolling out of the turn we’re aligned with the runway. If we overshoot, there will be a tendency to turn back to the runway while applying opposite rudder to keep the turn from getting too steep. Now we’re in a cross-control configuration while at a slow airspeed which is quite conducive to a power-off turning stall. Again, let’s apply full power and make a go-around, keeping in mind that we will want to start our turn on to final a few seconds sooner.

Unexpected hazards on the runway

When making an approach to land we must always be prepared for the unexpected. Perhaps the ground crew is cutting grass next to your landing runway and they inadvertently drove onto the runway just as you’re on short final approach. Or, in some of the more rural airports, deer, antelope or other critters may be on the runway. In either case we’ll need to execute a go-around to prevent a possible mishap. A good friend of mine recently encountered a deer running across the runway just as he was about to touch down. They collided. The aircraft suffered some minor damage, the deer lost its life and the pilot was quite shaken.

Wake turbulence from a preceding aircraft

This situation more often presents itself at busier tower controlled airports. Let us not forget from our ground school instruction that larger aircraft in a landing configuration (gear down and flaps down) create quite an air disturbance and significant vortices are generated. These vortices are strong enough to upset a small airplane on final approach should you follow too close behind the heavier aircraft. If you are directed by the tower to land behind a much larger aircraft, remember, you are pilot in command of your aircraft and are responsible for a safe flight. If it makes you feel uncomfortable and you feel you may encounter vortices, tell the tower you prefer to make a go-around for better spacing and they will direct you to do so.

Overtaking another aircraft on approach to land

Even at smaller airports you may find yourself practicing take offs and landings while several other aircraft are also doing the same. Should you find yourself in a situation where you are overtaking a slower aircraft while on final approach, you may want to execute a go-around. You don’t know what the other pilot is thinking or what he or she may do. As you overtake the aircraft you have but one option. Go-around rather than trying to anticipate what they may do.

Remaining too high on the final approach to land

This situation most often occurs when flying into an unfamiliar airport. Or, it can occur because you didn’t think ahead of your aircraft and forgot to consider the wind conditions. In either situation you could find yourself on final approach and well above the desired altitude for a smooth safe landing. Your options are: execute a slip to get rid of excess altitude, land extremely long or far down the runway and possibly run out of runway or - you guessed it - go-around.

Drifting across the runway due to a cross wind

In the last newsletter we discussed how to set up for and make cross wind landings. We learned that a cross wind can sometimes be quite variable as we make our approach to landing. Perhaps it felt to you that the cross wind was light and required no cross wind correction only to find that as you level and begin your flare or round out, the wind is pushing you across the runway. If you recognize the situation immediately and the runway is wide enough, you can make cross wind inputs and proceed with the landing. However, in most cases you’re caught a bit unaware and your reaction is a second or two slow. Rather than trying to salvage a landing that may end up tangling with the runway lights, add full power and make a go-around.

In summary, when it comes time for your checkride to earn your license, a flight examiner will never fail you if you use good judgment and make a go-around rather than trying to salvage a landing from a poor approach. This is a signal to the examiner that you are using good judgment and are truly acting as a safe pilot in command.

In the next issue we’ll discuss procedures for dealing with bad landings.