A flight’s landing can mean different things for different people. Emotions connected with touching down can range from excitement about being somewhere new to the relief of returning home. However, sometimes, this procedure can take more than one attempt, in the event of a ‘go-around.’ But what are these, and why do they occur?
What is a go-around?
In the world of aviation, the term ‘go-around’ refers to an aborted landing when the decision to reject the touchdown is made on the final approach. This timescale encompasses “any point from the final approach fix to wheels on the runway, but prior to any deceleration device being activated,” according to Skybrary. When the decision to abort is made late, there is a risk that tail strikes can occur, as happened with a Nippon Cargo 747-8F in February.
Having made the decision to abort the landing, an aircraft’s pilots must then occupy themselves with the necessary follow-up procedures. Generally, an aircraft will climb and turn to make another approach, but, sometimes, diversions happen as a result. In February 2020, a Singapore Airlines Airbus A380 turned the wrong way while going around in Sydney.
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Why do they occur?
Go-arounds can occur for various reasons. The decision to make such a maneuver will be based on the assumption that the present conditions could potentially make for an unsafe landing. Traffic on the active runway is often a factor in these maneuvers. After all, to land on a runway that is already occupied could have disastrous consequences.
On the other hand, aircraft sometimes have to make go-arounds when approaching a perfectly vacant runway. However, the runway’s availability doesn’t account for operational factors concerning the plane itself. Specifically, unstabilized approaches can also cause go-arounds, if the flight is not suitably stable by a given cut-off altitude (generally 1,000 feet). The incident involving a Singapore Airlines A380 was caused by wind shear on approach.
Sometimes caused by animals
As it happens, the factors involved in prompting go-arounds don’t always relate to mechanical parts of an airport’s operations. Specifically, Simple Flying has covered multiple incidents in which animals on an airport’s runways have forced flights to make a second attempt at their touchdowns. This helps to minimize the occurrence of animal strikes.
Interestingly enough, both of the following incidents occurred in Russia, and within a month of each other last year. The first took place in August 2020, when a bear on the runway at Magadan forced an S7 Airlines Airbus A320 to go around. Then, in September 2020, a Pobeda Boeing 737-800 had to make a similar maneuver due to the presence of a dog on the runway at St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo Airport. Both aircraft eventually landed safely.
Have you ever been on a flight that has had to go around? If so, what was the reason? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments.
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