Another snowflake traumatized by routine go-around

“I’ve never been in a plane with a trajectory,” said Avery Lieberman.

He's only been on stationary planes? Like in a museum or something?
 
He sounds like a real character. "Somebody needs to get to the bottom of this", he demands.
 
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Is there a no-fly list for people with over-sensitive fee fees?
 
An Alaskan Air flight. I'll bet lunch that Avery is a California native, not an Alaska native. The people I've met from Alaska don't scare so easily, especially about airplanes. Or nature, for that matter.
 
dmspilot said:
“I’ve never been in a plane with a trajectory,” said Avery Lieberman.
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Flying is to dangerous for him, put him on the list.

LA to San Francisco? Special breed there.

Just this morning, I was reminiscing on the airliner I was on which made 2 missed approaches before successfully landing, almost certainly by descending below the MDA. The white haired Captain told me he had airport environment in sight, I believe he had familiar OFF airport features identified.

I have flown that ILS many times since, and there were no obstructions more than 20 feet tall for half a mile from touchdown. BACK THEN.
 
In fairness, it is normal for people to be afraid of things that they don't understand. I've never heard an airline crew explain go-arounds or missed approaches in advance and when you're at go-around thrust and trying to mumble out a quick announcement from the busy cockpit nobody understands what you're saying, especially people already spooked by something unexpected happening. I would imagine at least half the passengers in every go-around and missed approach are a little on edge about the experience.

But this guy is exactly what's wrong with the world. He is afraid of something he doesn't understand (which is normal), finds out from people who understand it that the thing he is afraid of is perfectly safe and normal (also normal), and then goes on the local news and demands that somebody do something to fix it because the people who understand it obviously don't know what they're doing (totally asinine and the garden path to the end of civilization).
 
Years ago I had a window seat on a SWA cattle car. I looked out my plexiglass of bliss and saw KAUS lit up in all its glory. I figured we were on about a 3-mile base to one of the parallels and still at least 5000 feet. My first thought was that this was an odd VFR routing for a 121 type to cross the departure end only to enter a downwind to the farther parallel. Then I was surprised when we started descending rapidly and turning towards the near runway. My next thought was, no way this guy nails this landing, it will be a TOGA all the way. I was right. The FO came on the intercom after the bird was cleaned up and climbing and blamed it on the wind. Sure bud, the wind.
 
This even made the national news broadcasts. Right up there with someone didn't park between the lines at the PIggly Wiggly.

I like the way the Texas captain of a USAir flight handled an unintended go-around at SYR a few years ago, when a local flight training flight didn't get off the runway in an expeditious manner. After our flight made its climbout for another try, the captain explained why we had to go around, and in a laconic, exasperated voice, commented, "Some days it don't pay to get up in the mornin'."
 
Rich Holt said:
Years ago I had a window seat on a SWA cattle car. I looked out my plexiglass of bliss and saw KAUS lit up in all its glory. I figured we were on about a 3-mile base to one of the parallels and still at least 5000 feet. My first thought was that this was an odd VFR routing for a 121 type to cross the departure end only to enter a downwind to the farther parallel. Then I was surprised when we started descending rapidly and turning towards the near runway. My next thought was, no way this guy nails this landing, it will be a TOGA all the way. I was right. The FO came on the intercom after the bird was cleaned up and climbing and blamed it on the wind. Sure bud, the wind.
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Haha, similar story on the way from KPHX to KATL last winter with SWA. The 737 I was a passenger of was on base about to turn final. Perfectly clear VFR night. I looked out of the window before turning final and see the runway and knew we were way too high. I even texted my wife who was waiting for me in Atlanta, writing "oh, this is going to be a go-around". Pilot dove for it but didn't make it so they did a go-around. Half of the plane was sleeping, the other half was worried. No announcement through the intercom. Landed fine on the second try. I looked up the ATC recording of that flight later that night when I got to my Airbnb. Sure enough, there was nothing going on other than the pilot being too high and fast for landing.

So far, I had proportionally more go arounds on commercial airliners than in my own planes. In just over 400 landings as PIC, I had four unplanned go-arounds. Two ATC initiated and two because something wasn't right on my end. On commercial airliners as a passenger, I also had 4 go-arounds in about 50 landings, although I have to say, 3 were on the same flight from KAMA to KDFW. Pilot tried to set down the plane three times in dense fog before giving up and diverting to KOKC.
 
Weird. In all the years I've been flying commercial, I don't recall a single go-around, ever.
 
We used to live under the short final for runway 21 at Portland OR (we were actually across the river in Vancouver WA, a mile and a half from the threshhold of 21). That's the runway that's usually only used in storms with strong south winds, and when that runway is in use, go-arounds are sure to follow.

I had the home VHF radio on one blustery, stormy night. A United 767 had just done a go-around on very short final for 21 after encountering wind shear over the river. He landed on the second attempt. Tower asked him for a ride report on final. The mic keyed, there was a long pause, then the tired voice, "You had to be there."
 
pmanton said:
Many years ago I was in a Spanish Caravelle pulling G's when descending through a hole in the undercast.
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You reminded me of my initial instrument check ride in my .mil job. I was rapidly approaching KMOB at 6000 patiently waiting for a decent to shoot an ILS. The decent came way too close and they were about to vector us back for another try when the IP (with 4000 hours in type) had me request a pilots discretion to the initial altitude indicated on the plate. I had not even gotten the repeat back out of my mouth before the IP said “my controls” and inverted us into a dive and then recovered on course at the initial altitude. “Your controls,” was all he said until after we had landed back at the home drome.

I passed.


Lead group hot!
 
DaleB said:
Weird. In all the years I've been flying commercial, I don't recall a single go-around, ever.
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Lucky you.

I’ve had a few. Most annoying was due to a Republic Airways regional jet that was taking their sweet time to takeoff (and failing to heed Tower’s direction to expedite). So they finally start rolling but there is no way I was going to be able to slow down and land without either landing on top of them or melting my widescreen, so back into the clouds I went to be vectored back for another approach.
 
Once upon a time, After scraping the right wingtip on the runway and then making the hardest landing I've ever experienced, the Southwest flight attendant announced "We've HIT Town!"

There was a lot of hootin and hollerin from the passengers, but I don't remember anyone complaining...

Of course, that was in the '80s, when only a small percentage of the population was insane...
 
Story goes that if a US pilot announced on the PA that he was going back to the terminal because of a li'l ol' warning light on the panel, the passengers would be screaming and crying and clutching their teddy bears until they could evacuate the aircraft. In Soviet Russia, the passengers would take up a collection to bribe the pilot to take off anyway.
 
Fearless Tower said:
Pretty soon they’re going to be the only ones left in San Francisco besides the homeless.

There’s California crazy and the there’s San Francisco crazy.
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Avery Lieberman is not a San Franciscan.
 
Fearless Tower said:
Pretty soon they’re going to be the only ones left in San Francisco besides the homeless.

There’s California crazy and the there’s San Francisco crazy.
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And Ventucky crazy... don't forget that. We have own little special kind of crazy going on..
 
I remember to go arounds and a couple of missed approached.

One go around was Budapest - JFK. Landing to the east, turned us too close to the runway. I was saying to myself, this ain't gonna work. It didn't. No big deal.

The one one I truly believed I was about to die. Kenya Air landing in Nairobi. I was port side, window in Business. I look and are we are on a high left downwind. OK, NP, flyout and a nice long final. About that point, we roll off into left descending turn to final. After MANY overhead patterns, I am thinking, this ain't gonna work. We crossed the extended centerline at something like 60 degrees off the final heading. The turn continues. I figure they are aligning to the runway and then going around. NOPE. We turn back to intercept final. And then we turn right to align. We are close enough in, that we are inside the localizer antenna for the opposite runway. I really thought we were going to put the wingtip into the ground and cartwheel. About the time I figure the tip is about to touch, we roll wings level, go to high thrust and cross the ramp and terminal at about 200 feet. We went out and did about a 25 mile final.
 
IK04 said:
Once upon a time, After scraping the right wingtip on the runway and then making the hardest landing I've ever experienced, the Southwest flight attendant announced "We've HIT Town!"
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Haven’t ever seen one THAT bad, but some you can tell if the pilot is ex-Navy. But hey, everyone walks off, it’s all good.
 
Pinecone said:
I remember to go arounds and a couple of missed approached.

One go around was Budapest - JFK. Landing to the east, turned us too close to the runway. I was saying to myself, this ain't gonna work. It didn't. No big deal.

The one one I truly believed I was about to die. Kenya Air landing in Nairobi. I was port side, window in Business. I look and are we are on a high left downwind. OK, NP, flyout and a nice long final. About that point, we roll off into left descending turn to final. After MANY overhead patterns, I am thinking, this ain't gonna work. We crossed the extended centerline at something like 60 degrees off the final heading. The turn continues. I figure they are aligning to the runway and then going around. NOPE. We turn back to intercept final. And then we turn right to align. We are close enough in, that we are inside the localizer antenna for the opposite runway. I really thought we were going to put the wingtip into the ground and cartwheel. About the time I figure the tip is about to touch, we roll wings level, go to high thrust and cross the ramp and terminal at about 200 feet. We went out and did about a 25 mile final.
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Here’s a wing tip story. Didn’t go around but probably should have. C141 on the way from Nam Phong to Iwakuni. Last leg was Kadena. Stormy going in. About 10 of us sitting in the back with the cargo on the troop seats. On final he’s kicking rudder, over and over again. Engines get quiet, felt like the bottom dropped out and Wham!! Then we’re back in the air and I’m leaning back, way back, felt like 45 degrees, wings roll level then Wham!! again, engines get loud again reverse thrusting.

The loadmaster in the back tells us just wait here until the passenger rep gets there with a bus to take us to the terminal. Then the crew gets all their bags and stuff and get off the plane. About 15 minutes later the passenger rep comes on to get us and put us on the bus. The cockpit door is about half open. Remember when I said the crew got off the plane? Well it wasn’t all of them. Captain was still in there sitting in the left seat. Not doing anything, just sitting there staring straight ahead.
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