Aborted landing

kilburn

Hey guys im a big airplane buff but experienced my first aborted landing recently and it knocked me. Was on an Aer Lingus flight Monday 29 November from Dublin to Rome was watching the landing out the window when i reckon at least 6ft from the runway maybe less the pilot put the boot down and took off again. He came on about 5 mins later sounded a bit shook himself and just said the plane wanted to keep flying a bit longer.
Anyway how many of you guys have experienced an aborted landing and what were the circumstances?

My Thoughts

only happened me the once, on a CityJet flight to London City couple of years back, was a windy day, came down one wheel touched and we took off again. I wasn't too concerned as I know the BAE 146 is a super versatile machine but the guy with me nearly had heart failure, he wouldn't fly home from London City airport that night and hasn't been back since! As to the circumstances the captain kind of fudged that one so we don't really know.

veetwin

Yeah happened to me many years ago in a BA 737 into Jersey. We kind of expected it though. The Captain explained on approach that the airport was covered in fog but he was going to try an approach anyway. About 50 ft from landing he powered up and returned to LHR. He later explained that he couldn't see a thing at that altitude and had to abort. No big deal really I suppose because we were forewarned.

Leandromstt

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_z72oQ6HPfo

Tenger

kilburn wrote: »

...... was watching the landing out the window when i reckon at least 6ft from the runway maybe less the pilot put the boot down and took off again. He came on about 5 mins later sounded a bit shook himself and just said the plane wanted to keep flying a bit longer......

I don't think he was shook up as airline pilots practise this sort of stuff all the time. He probably wasn't really sure of what to say to the pax. A mate of mine is an EI captain, he once explained to be that until they start to brake on the runway they are ready to hit take off power an pull up.

I have had a few. All quite cool. Mostly you are ready for them as the flight crew warn you of high winds/crosswinds at the destination. Most of mine have been quite high, 500+ feet. The cool ones are the touch and go's...........

IRLConor

I've only experienced it once on a flight from LHR-DUB (probably about 15 years ago now). The pilot warned us beforehand that there were high winds and that there was a strong chance we'd have to divert to Shannon but she said she'd try to get us into Dublin.

The first attempt was aborted relatively early on. I was on the left side of the aircraft and we were noticeably further left than normal (much closer to Howth). The pilot gave up relatively early and told us she'd try one more go and then head for Shannon. The second attempt was much closer and the abort was much more noticeable with what felt like a much more abrupt change in speed and direction. I don't know if we touched the runway briefly but we were almost on the ground. It was enough to freak out a few of the more nervious fliers.

The pilot talked us through the whole lot and was very professional throughout. The only real issue was the massive pain the arse that is a bus from Shannon to Dublin on a Sunday evening with a load of disgruntled passengers and the obligatory crying baby!

bmarley

IRLConor wrote: »

I've only experienced it once on a flight from LHR-DUB (probably about 15 years ago now). The pilot warned us beforehand that there were high winds and that there was a strong chance we'd have to divert to Shannon but she said she'd try to get us into Dublin.

The first attempt was aborted relatively early on. I was on the left side of the aircraft and we were noticeably further left than normal (much closer to Howth). The pilot gave up relatively early and told us she'd try one more go and then head for Shannon. The second attempt was much closer and the abort was much more noticeable with what felt like a much more abrupt change in speed and direction. I don't know if we touched the runway briefly but we were almost on the ground. It was enough to freak out a few of the more nervious fliers.

The pilot talked us through the whole lot and was very professional throughout. The only real issue was the massive pain the arse that is a bus from Shannon to Dublin on a Sunday evening with a load of disgruntled passengers and the obligatory crying baby!

thats women drivers for ya:D

bbam

Happened us years ago on a flight to Malta... decended all the way down over the sea, came in over the runway too late, touched down for about 10 seconds and then power on and back up.. I was a little aprehensive second time round...:eek:
Pilot was very casual saying Malta was hard to hit as it's so small compared to the Med :rolleyes:

cram1971

Happened to me coming into Sydney in 1994, light aircraft didnt clear the runway in time .. Captain gave out ****e!

IRLConor

bmarley wrote: »

thats women drivers for ya:D

There were certainly many comments in that vein that day, but I have to say that the pilot that day was a credit to the airline (EI). She kept us informed throughout and that kept most people from being worried or too miffed about the diversion.

That was in stark contrast to a BA flight (SFO-LHR) I was on a few years back where even the cabin crew were getting cranky about being kept in the dark. Apparently the APU on the aircraft was busted so they were trying to start the engines with some sort of external power source which was apparently too wimpy to reliably start the engines. The cabin crew had a couple of hundred cranky people sweating (no AC) and were being drip-fed info from the flight deck. It took 30 minutes of the passengers melting before they got the engines up and running and explained the whole lot. It felt like a lot longer than that though!

Tenger

IRLConor wrote: »

..........

Examples like that really show how important it is to keep the passengers up to date with info even if the info is 'no further update'. Its a courtesy and it keeps tempers down if people are in the know.....

I had a touch and go in DUB a few years ago, as we climbed out one of the cabin crew quickly explained what was happening to calm the nerves of the passengers. 5-10 mins later (after levelling off) one of the pilots then did a PA explained a bit more and warning us for the second attempt. Everyone was very calm as they were in the know about the situation.

Bob_the_dog

CDG-DUB in May this year. About 100ft up pilot hit the throttle and went around and landed from other direction. Pilot explained about a sudden change in wind direction and he was going round to land from the west.

Flying with my boss, he sh*t himself, the highlight of the trip:)

Lapin

I've never been on an aircraft that required an aborted landing, but twice I have witnessed an aborted take off.

The first was on a DUB-LHR flight about 15 years ago when an engine failed on the runway just before she was about to take off. It sent a few shivers down the spine when this was explained to us as we taxied back to the ramp. The general consensus among my fellow passengers as we waited a couple of hours in the bar for a replacement plane was "rather it happen down here than up there !"


The second incident was an uneventful, yet curious episode at LCY just over 2 years ago and probably didn't constitute an aborted take off at all, but perhaps someone here can explain the reason behind it.

Our aircraft a Cityjet BAe 146 was lined up on the runway and prepared to begin take off. Holding behind us were a pair Fokker 50s. As we began to move the plane suddenly slowed down again and taxied off the runway where she waited for a couple of minutes before moving again and queuing behind the same two Fokkers we were in front of moments earlier. No other aircraft landed on the runway in the meantime and no crew announcements were made.

I have often wondered since what the reason for this might have been.
Any ideas ?

BrianD

I had a go around on a Ryanair flight from Pisa from Dublin in Jan '09. It was very bumpy on the way into Dublin and just as we went over the airport roundabout to land we suddenly went straight back up again.

Pilot didn't say anything until we levelled out again and then explained the situation. He didn't like the cross winds and then stated we'd be on the ground in 5 min. It did seem a long time before the announcement for ages but probably only was a couple of minutes. I think getting the plane into a safe place far outweighs the need to give passengers minute by minute updates.

I've had to pre-take off incidents. Aer Lingus 737 had a failed starter something or other. We had to wait 30 min for one to be fitted in situ. Mind you the captains announcement was quite dramatic "Cabin crew disarm doors ...NOW!"

The other was a BA flight where the APU failed. The pilot even referenced the technicians working on it on the aircraft stand. The aircraft was towed out to the runaway where the mobile unit failed and another one had to be fetched. Off we went to LA then.

mayotom

Oh I've had a few, mainly in heavy crosswinds, two in Particular in Helsinki and St Petersburg (LED) where they got it down on the third attempt

Also a couple of times with Monarch who always seem to come up with the strangest excuses, one time was Rabbits on the Runway

had an incident on Jet2 from Malaga, when the engine burst into flames on take off, but we were beyond the point of no return and he took it down in Gibralter

Plowman

This post has been deleted.

Davidth88

Had a couple . The one that stands out is approaching SFO . I was as usual watching out of the window , next thing , power on ......

Captain came on and said that the was another aircraft on the runway , and he figured it was better if we went around.


When I was flying privately we used to be ' sent around ' constantly, the Airfield I trained at ( Leavesdon , now a film studios where James Bond amongst others is filmed ) always felt that training aircraft were a nuisance , if there was a twin of an exec on approach , or waiting to take off we would be shifted.

I actually had a go-around on my first solo ! , my instructor was hopping mad when I arrived back , he phoned the controller and ripped his head off !

I also remember by CFI having a number of arguments with them over their policy.

Captain Commie

I saw one on saturday, was driving along the back road from airport to M50 and saw a twin prop come down to land, few seconds later it was back in the air. maybe it was just doing a touch 'n' go, but i know it was defo too quick to be another flight taking off as didnt have enough time to clear the runway.

did seem to touch down quite late on the runway

Einstein

Had one close call while flying from Dub-NY. We had just hit the runway, when power up and up we went again, fairly steeply...

Same thing, as pilot not confident runway would be clear in time. It's times like those that you can feel the pure power of the engines when they pin you to your seat :P

xflyer

As a (non airline) pilot I have to say this thread has given me some wry amusement. I have plenty of go arounds which is what they are called. No such thing as an aborted landing, whatever that is. I was once on an Aer Lingus flight that had a go around. I guessed it was simply the aircraft ahead being slow to clear. That it proved to be.

There are several reasons for them. One is something on the runway. Usually the pilot is aware of it and continues, only going around when it's obvious that they won't get clear. This decision is made very early and there will be no touchdown and no danger to anyone.

Sometimes as in the OPs case, there is a touchdown followed by a go around. I suspect that was because the aircraft floated a bit before touching down. This is most common with high or gusty often crosswinds, maybe he was carrying to much speed on approach or the wind slackened considerably at low level or the pilot made a bit of a mess of it. I'm guilty of that a few times. Better to go around than go off the end.

Very occasionally a go around it caused because something crossed the runway unexpectedly. An animal, yes rabbits. They can make a mess of engines or it could be another aircraft or vehicle suddenly crossing the runway. That would be worthy of thread on the subject.

The fact is that go arounds are common, there is nothing scary about them most of the time. Despite the occasional lurid newspaper reports.

irishgrover

xflyer wrote: »

As a (non airline) pilot I have to say this thread has given me some wry amusement. I have plenty of go arounds which is what they are called. No such thing as an aborted landing, whatever that is

...
..jeez yea, thanks for clearing this up xflyer, I too have been sitting here laughing at the stupidity of the great unwashed, "aborted landing" indeed, how embarrassing

veetwin

xflyer wrote: »

As a (non airline) pilot I have to say this thread has given me some wry amusement. I have plenty of go arounds which is what they are called. No such thing as an aborted landing, whatever that is..

Maybe people call them aborted landings because the pilot..ahem..aborts the landing..:rolleyes:

kilburn

veetwin wrote: »

Maybe people call them aborted landings because the pilot..ahem..aborts the landing..:rolleyes:

I apologise for not being a pilot and not knowing the proper terminology !

The thred never said anything about them being dangerous or any other scarmonger, it is just non pilots talking about "Go arounds"

David086

mayotom wrote: »

Rabbits on the Runway

hahaha brilliant.

Tenger

veetwin wrote: »

Maybe people call them aborted landings because the pilot..ahem..aborts the landing..:rolleyes:

Well as I say earlier my EI pilot mate says they are not 'aborted landings' as up until they start to brake they are ready to go-around. So mentally for a commercial pilot, a landing is actually an aborted or non complete go-around!!

A320

I Was on a test flight and experienced a GA a lot more fun and violent a normal pax would be used too as it was planned,nice high nose up attitude and immediate steep turn out on an empty aircraft,Pilots love being able to play with the aircraft in that situation

pclancy

Its easy for those in the know to dismiss go around's as normal and routine but for most of the travelling public who might only fly a few times a year it can be terrifying so I don't think should be belittled.

On a recent flight I heard a man ask were we on the ground yet when the sound he'd heard was just the landing gear coming down. Similar i've heard people exclaim with fear the the "wing is broken" when the flaps or spoilers are out. Most people just don't have a clue hence they get really scared by normal events.

A320

True,Ha also on A320 series when the Hydraulic PTU starts that barking noise when the yellow pump is pressurized,people in the centre cabin area always ask WTF!

Alicano

British Airways b747 flight into Buenos Aires. Closing in on runway when full power on and off we went again. the noise was great! Captain came on the p.a with that " i do say so" english accent. apologised and explained that they had been given the wrong runway and it was not long enough to stop a 747 in the conditions. a quick loop later and routine landing on different runway. pretty savage.:)

Davidth88

My mate who has flown as CC on a well known international airline ( run by an Irishman who used to run EI ) for 20 odd years used to pray for go arounds.

The reason.

They got a shed load of overtime/extra money ...... of course that was before the reforms .

donkey balls

Saw one this morning at Dub he was lined up for RWY 28 and overflew my mate who is an FO told me that he would nearly have one a month and it's no big deal.

xflyer

Yes of course go arounds are scary to the unitiated. Kilburn seemed to think the pilot on his flight was 'shook'. More likely he was irritated at the delay and unlikely that he was pilot flying.

Well Kilburn, Plowman's post did imply danger. In fact it actually demonstrates how safe airline flying is. Clearly the aircraft made two approaches, descending to the legal Decision Height. Due to low cloud or fog the runway wasn't visible. On the third attempt it was and they landed. Lucky that because they would have ended up diverting and facing a long bus ride.

Perhaps I'm a little jaded about the go around thing. It comes up so often. But if you don't want to avoid some arrogant pilot like me trying to clear up some misapphrensions then post in After hours.

irishgrover

xflyer wrote: »

Yes of course go arounds are scary to the unitiated. Kilburn seemed to think the pilot on his flight was 'shook'. More likely he was irritated at the delay and unlikely that he was pilot flying.

Well Kilburn, Plowman's post did imply danger. In fact it actually demonstrates how safe airline flying is. Clearly the aircraft made two approaches, descending to the legal Decision Height. Due to low cloud or fog the runway wasn't visible. On the third attempt it was and they landed. Lucky that because they would have ended up diverting and facing a long bus ride.

Perhaps I'm a little jaded about the go around thing. It comes up so often. But if you don't want to avoid some arrogant pilot like me trying to clear up some misapphrensions then post in After hours.

with respect, one can be knowledgeable without being arrogant...

xflyer

That's an Ad hominen comment. Uncalled for.

I'm not arrogant that was irony. What you see is irritation that once again the whole non issue of go arounds is raised as if it was something scary or dangerous. Wheras in fact, go arounds are safe. Go arounds demonstrate the system works and that pilots will go around rather than risk a bad landing or something worse.

mle1324

Only ever happened once to me last year on a FR flight to Birmingham.

The plane never touched down or anything but we only a couple of hundred feet in the air and then full power.

The pilot got on the loudspeaker a few minutes said that there was a aircraft involved in a bird strike and we would be landing about 10 minutes later.

With that, when we touched the runway the 737 was goin a bit too fast in such a way everyone thought we were going to over run the runway.

kilburn

xflyer wrote: »

That's an Ad hominen comment. Uncalled for.

I'm not arrogant that was irony. What you see is irritation that once again the whole non issue of go arounds is raised as if it was something scary or dangerous. Wheras in fact, go arounds are safe. Go arounds demonstrate the system works and that pilots will go around rather than risk a bad landing or something worse.

As the OP i would like to reiterate that I never said it was dangerous or not safe. To non pilots or non aviation experts these things are frightening, so please take your arrogant condescending pilots cap off and remember this is boards.ie where the public come to discuss issues relevant to them and not pilots weekly.

vulcan57

Happened to me on the way Galway to Luton on 6th Dec. Making the approach to Luton, cabin crew all strapped in we must have been almost on the ground when the engines throttled up and we were climbing again. There was very thick fog so couldn't see a thing. The captain came on a few minutes later to say that the landing had to be aborted due to thick fog and the airport was closing and we will be diverting to East Midlands. The sickening thing was that when we looked on the Aer Arann site at the travel info, it said that the flight from Isle of Man to London City that morning was diverted to where ? Yeh! London Luton !

cyrusdvirus

kilburn wrote: »

As the OP i would like to reiterate that I never said it was dangerous or not safe. To non pilots or non aviation experts these things are frightening, so please take your arrogant condescending pilots cap off and remember this is boards.ie where the public come to discuss issues relevant to them and not pilots weekly.

i wouldn't consider xflyers comments arrogant or condescending. he explained that the terminology we were using is incorrect, and that they are called go arounds. He explained that a pilot would rather go around than go in for a landing when he isn't fully happy.

The fact that the pilot has to throttle up and initiate a full go around is always going to be exciting (in terms of fun n games for some and brown trouser runny nose time for others) to the passengers sitting in the back unaware of what's going on in the front office, but i'd doubt that a pilot would be nervous etc when making any cabin announcements..... Think of the example provided by Eric Moody on speedbird 009

AfterDusk

mle1324 wrote: »

With that, when we touched the runway the 737 was goin a bit too fast in such a way everyone thought we were going to over run the runway.

Sorry, but no it wasn't. With respect, how can a passenger determine if an aircraft is going at the correct speed?

CiaranC

Flew Tiger into Kuala Lumpur from Perth earlier in the year, the pilot made a big deal of introducing his copilot over the PA, telling us she'd be taking us in to land. It sounded like it was her first go at it from his tone. Anyway, they decided to change their mind about landing about 5 meters up. Scared the bollix out of me.

I had visions of the Pilot taking over the controls from the learner in the cockpit like it was a VW Polo with L plates :P

amiable

I've seen Concord training in Shannon where it landed for a few seconds and would take off again almost straight away. I think it was around 1996. Some noise from it

paddydriver

Flew from Shannon to Marseille about 15 years ago on "Air Mediterranee" (before Ryanair had Europe covered:rolleyes:) and when we arrived to Marseille for landing the pilot pulled back up close in and then flew low around the tower, and came back around again and landed - in his French accented English he explained that they got an error on the landing gear and needed the tower to take a closer look and see they were down correctly!!

I would have thought he would have known that sooner when we first put them down - but maybe he hoped the error would fix itself. Anyway, no probs in the end.

Plane was a piece of sh!t ancient 737 - wasn't surprised it broke.

Have had plenty of pant filling experiences into London city during winter of 1997 - was working in London and was back and forth twice a week; was a wet and windy winter! - wet and windy outside and down below! Enough said... I am a bit nervous a flyer.

mle1324

neil2304 wrote: »

Sorry, but no it wasn't. With respect, how can a passenger determine if an aircraft is going at the correct speed?

Sorry, should of said '' the 737 felt like it was going faster then normal, imo!

Also I think ''I doubt it wasn't'' would be a nicer way to put your post. Or if you were on my flight then I'll accept your use of the word ''No''.

veetwin

Is it still a "go around" if the pilot ahem... "aborts the landing" and opts to fly to a different airport? If not is there a more correct term?

FlutterinBantam

Diversion

highlydebased

paddydriver wrote: »

Flew from Shannon to Marseille about 15 years ago on "Air Mediterranee" (before Ryanair had Europe covered:rolleyes:) and when we arrived to Marseille for landing the pilot pulled back up close in and then flew low around the tower, and came back around again and landed - in his French accented English he explained that they got an error on the landing gear and needed the tower to take a closer look and see they were down correctly!!

I would have thought he would have known that sooner when we first put them down - but maybe he hoped the error would fix itself. Anyway, no probs in the end.

.

It happens quite a bit- there may be an erroneous indication in the cockpit. Tower will visually advise if gear appear down and locked.

FreudianSlippers

Experienced one in a Bombardier CRJ-700. Apparently a light aircraft crossed the runway unexpectedly. I was in the very back row next to the engines and when the pilot hit the gas (so to speak ) it was very loud.

cyrusdvirus

amiable wrote: »

I've seen Concord training in Shannon where it landed for a few seconds and would take off again almost straight away. I think it was around 1996. Some noise from it

I think they used Shannon as a regular touch and go training location.

Nice big runway, and nowhere near the traffic of Heathrow or Charles De Gaulle or JFK in New York .

irishgrover

xflyer wrote: »

......
Perhaps I'm a little jaded about the go around thing. It comes up so often. But if you don't want to avoid some arrogant pilot like me trying to clear up some misapphrensions then post in After hours.

irishgrover wrote: »

with respect, one can be knowledgeable without being arrogant...

xflyer wrote: »

That's an Ad hominen comment. Uncalled for.

I'm not arrogant that was irony. What you see is irritation that once again the whole non issue of go arounds is raised as if it was something scary or dangerous. Wheras in fact, go arounds are safe. Go arounds demonstrate the system works and that pilots will go around rather than risk a bad landing or something worse.

Hi xflyer, please accept my apologies if I have insulted you or if you feel my comments were uncalled for. I missed the irony in your previous post, and took your words are being an accurate reflection of how you felt.

As will all public discussion forums much can be gained from information provided by professionals such as yourself, and such contributions are obviously welcomed.

All too often in discussion boards the subtleness of communication often fails when the only medium is a keyboard, so it's totally possible that I misinterpreted your previous messages...

xflyer wrote: »

As a (non airline) pilot I have to say this thread has given me some wry amusement. I have plenty of go arounds which is what they are called. No such thing as an aborted landing, whatever that is.......

I thought the above (bolded by me) was a tad condescending, as I'm sure you would have been able to figure out that it was a common (although technically inaccurate phase) for a go around.....

Anyway, all the best....

PS: Slightly on/off topic, with regards to the term "Go around", has it always been called this, or did this phrase originate as a "passenger friendly" term, designed not to alarm. For example, my understanding is that in most commercial flights (using an instrument approach) when a decision is made to undergo a "Go Around" the actual procedure and terminology used is "Missed Approach", that is a pilot executes a "Missed Approach" as opposed to a "Go Around". So is it possible that the generic term "Go Around" is used my commercial airlines instead of "Missed Approach" as the latter could be (incorrectly) interpreted as indicating that the pilot has "missed" something, whereas the generic "Go Around" indicates nothing or significance accept that the plane is not on the ground...?

TrackBarChaser

We train for this ad nauseum in the sim. I really doubt the Capt. was shook as the original poster said! Moreover, we usually perform go-arounds in the sim with an engine out or some other emergency other than the go-around which is tricky!

Missed approach is the procedure you follow after initiating the go-around, for example, you perform the go-around get the a/c into a climb, set your climb out power, retract stages of flaps (if applicable), raise the gear then you follow the missed approach procedure, each approach has a published missed approach procedure. Some times they are simple like: "missed approach instructions; ''climb straight ahead on runway heading to 3000ft and contact ATC". Others can be more complex, like; "after missed approach, direct to G locator then turn right to PE locator climbing to 2000ft and enter holding at PE". There are much more complex ones than that by the way, I just saw that one the other day!
The missed approach instructions/procedure is a key component of the approach brief also, so everyone knows what we do in the event of a go around. Or as a Captain I know calls them, a ''lets get the fu*k outta here"!!

amiable

TrackBarChaser wrote: »

We train for this ad nauseum in the sim. I really doubt the Capt. was shook as the original poster said! Moreover, we usually perform go-arounds in the sim with an engine out or some other emergency other than the go-around which is tricky!

Missed approach is the procedure you follow after initiating the go-around, for example, you perform the go-around get the a/c into a climb, set your climb out power, retract stages of flaps (if applicable), raise the gear then you follow the missed approach procedure, each approach has a published missed approach procedure. Some times they are simple like: "missed approach instructions; ''climb straight ahead on runway heading to 3000ft and contact ATC". Others can be more complex, like; "after missed approach, direct to G locator then turn right to PE locator climbing to 2000ft and enter holding at PE". There are much more complex ones than that by the way, I just saw that one the other day!
The missed approach instructions/procedure is a key component of the approach brief also, so everyone knows what we do in the event of a go around. Or as a Captain I know calls them, a ''lets get the fu*k outta here"!!

You sound like you know a hell of a lot more about these situations than me so i'm just wondering maybe in the OP's case the pilot had a near miss and hence he sounded shook.
Obviously though when a layman is in this situation your experience could be clouded from the fright? I don't think he was trying to mislead anyone