Anyone ever experience a "Missed Approach" on an airplane?

In My Humble Opinion
21

Leaving O’Hare to come back to Philly, we were all aboard with the jetway retracted, and they determined something was wrong with one of the wheels/tires. Repairs took about 40 minutes, and it felt like 10 big guys were taking turns beating the piss out of some part on the underside of the plane.

They had passed out headphones, and while playing with the channel selector, got on the ground/tower frequency. When the misbehaving plane part had been pummeled into submission, we were ready to leave, but had to sit in a line on the taxiway because some thunderstorms were cruising through. Planes that had been given clearance to depart apparently said shame on it, and returned to the terminal. Our moment of decision arrived, the Captain got on the PA, told us to hang on, because we were “gonna go for it.” :eek: In retrospect, I do not recall casting a vote Aye or Nay.

Turbulence, lots of lightning, some hail bouncing off the wing, thankfully no sight of a troll with a can opener. We finally got above the storm, and the rest of the flight was uneventful. Sure gave my pucker scale a new high mark, though. :smiley:

22

Hah! You should land at Maupiti! The landing strip is on one of the motus (tiny coral reef islands surrounding the main island, which ain’t so large, either). The only flat place they could find, apparently, in the entire set of islets. They come in oOOOver the main island (which has a big extinct volcano in the middle, dive down across the lagoon, nose up approaching the airport and stand on the brakes with as much flaps as they got. This is with a little plane, something like a 16- or 32-seater, and from the front row of the passenger section I could see out the cockpit front window. I was sure, and I mean absolutely sure, that we were headed into the Pacific. When we disembarked, I could clearly see that we had an entire meter, maybe meter and a half, before the end of the runway. At that point I understood why they had aborted the previous day’s flight because of a problem discerned with the brakes shortly before takeoff.

23

Yup, I had a missed approach. Something about a landing gear they weren’t sure was down, etc. etc. Nothing like flying a little off the runway so the folks in the tower can get a better look under the wing.

I also had a dog (actually coyote) on the runway while I was a passenger on a private plane. Talk about an up-close-and-personal view.

24

Flying from Baltimore to Kansas City via Dallas. Dallas to KC run we run into a huge thunderstorm. We could see it coming up, and the pilot told us he was hoping to miss it. We didn’t miss it. The flight wasn’t very full and it was one of those flights when everyone gets to talking to one another, joking around, real cameraderie.

We were flopping up and down in our seats due to turbulence and the girl sitting next to me (her first flight) ran screaming down the aisle to vomit in the toilet and didn’t come back until after our missed approach.

We started to descend in pretty nasty weather when the plane suddenly banked sharply to the left, the wing dropped and I could see the ground REALLY close to the wing tip. I was not happy with this, as you can imagine. A huge burst of power from the engines and we were level and pulling away from the airport. The pilot informed us we were landing in Wichita (the Air Capital of the World!).

Landed safely in Wichita, stayed in the worst hotel room in the world, and was told that in order to get to Kansas City (almost directly north from Wichita) I would have to go to Dallas first. I pitched a polite fit and the wonderfully flaming ticket agent got me on a commuter plane.

25

On a trip back from San Pedro Sula, Honduras, for a previous job. We were on TACA from San Pedro Sula to Miami, then switching to Delta for the flight into Atlanta.

We started to land in Miami, to the point that the rear wheels seemed (I can’t say definitely, though - looking out the window we were definitely very close enough to the ground for them to be touching), when all of a sudden the plane seemed to shimmy to the right a little and took back off, very steeply and very quickly. Apparently it felt much worse at the back of the plane - I was fairly far forward, but a coworker was toward the back - and said there were a couple of girls crying back there.

We never got an explanation as to why.

26

Holy Crap!! This is exactly why I avoid landing at all costs!

-Take Offs: 35
-Landings: 3

I’d much rather jump out than stay in a plane anyday!

27

That’s got to really freak out the flight attendants!

28

It was a fairly common occurance at Stapleton, (less so at DIA cause you have an extra 10 miles from the mountains). The wind would be all swirly and wierd off the rockies, and the plane would fall or jump off of altitude and have to swing around for another try on the right approach.

I remember one time we were comming in on approach in a big ass 747 , and suddenly started falling like one of those “Tower of Terror” amusement park rides. After about 15 seconds the pilot floored the mother, glued us to the back of our seats and we started climbing again. We came around from the other side and made it just fine. Until then I had no idea how much power those big jets really have if they need it. If my primary concern hadn’t been “Shit Were gonna DIE!” it would have been pretty cool to feel that much acceleration. :slight_smile:

Walking out I over-heard the pilot say it was the biggest “Hole in the air” he had ever seen in 35 years of flying.

29

:: Wanders into thread…::

Why yes, I’ve performed several go-arounds/missed approaches with passengers on board (probably hundreds with no one on board/in the simulator).

I know that it feels like the world is coming to and end in the back, but really…everything is under control, and going around is completely safe. We practice it all the time in the simulator, and prepare for and brief the missed approach on every single approach that we do. When your airplane goes missed approach, that is the safest course of action. It’s when pilots push things and DON’T go missed approach that really bad things happen.

I know how difficult it can be to accept that nothing is going wrong when you are experiencing something completely different in an airplane. My sister (who flies a lot) called me up in a panic once after she experienced her first missed approach. It took me 20 minutes to calm her down and assure her that it was no big deal.

We don’t like going missed approach any more than you do, but remember that it is the safest course of action when things aren’t right (for whatever reason - traffic on the runway, crosswinds, low ceilings, etc). And while we are not required to say anything about why we went missed approach, I always try to make sure that someone talks to the passengers. We can be VERY busy up front after a missed approach, so sometimes we tell the Flight Attendants what happened and have them make the PA.

Having said all that, I can remember every missed approach I’ve done at the airline. They are very rare, but once again…safe.

30

I didn’t mention it, but they really didn’t bother me, in fact just the opposite. I assume that pilots generally have a Very Good Reason for the stuff they do; it just keeps me mindful of “What if they hadn’t pulled up?” A friend of mine was on the USAirways flight that landed on a smaller plane at LAX back around 90/91. She said that most of the people seated around her died in the resulting chaos. She got out okay because she’d paid attention to the flight attendants when they pointed out where the emergency exits were located. Jets, apparently, fill up pretty quickly with thick, dark, toxic smoke. Ever since she told me that I’ve been careful to notice which is my closest exit… just in case.

31

I was on a Northwest Airlines flight to Minneapolis one time when the landing was aborted because of a runway incursion. The pilot was quite calm on the PA explaining what happened, but he was looking to rip somebody a new one by the time we landed.

32

I always count the rows to the closest exit so I will be able to feel my way to the exit if the plane fills with smoke.

33

And I really don’t want to go to Iraq.

Not for the usual reason, but because I’m looking out my window seat at a guy on a ladder digging into the port inboard engine. After several hours, a tug pulls us back to the temrinal and we deplane for the night. Military terminals raise the discomfort level of sleeping in an airport by at least a factor of two.

The next day, and I guess the wrench has fixed the engine, as we’re getting back onboard.

And that’s the closest I’ve come (or desire to get) to an aircraft mishap.

But I was on a flight from Dallas to Atlanta when we had a fella go into cardiac arrest. We had a doctor on board who was able to stabilize the guy, and the pilot told us we were going to divert to Birmingham and make a medical emergency landing. The flight attendants came by snatching drinks and cups out of everyone’s hands, doing the “seatbacks and tray tables to upright position” spiel, and making sure everyone is buckled in. We must have been directly over the airport, because it seems that the flight attendants no sooner finish when the pilot stands the plane on one wing and heads for the Earth like a WW II fighter plane dive bombing the enemy. We land, and as we decelerate, I see all of the fire trucks and ambulances are out, lights flashing, engines undoubtedly revving, waiting for the worst to happen.

Did they think it was the entire flight crew having the heart attack? Sheesh.

While the rapid descent didn’t bother me, I now know why NASA folks call the Zero-G aircraft simulator “The Vomit Comet.” Yech.

34

I’ve had three. One was at Raleigh where a small plane was in the way, so we pulled up and went around then landed. No big deal.

The second and third were on the same landing - a BA 747 into JFK took three attempts to land. The pilot never explained why. The weather was fine. They made an announcement after the first abort that the pilot would explain why in due course. Then he aborted his next attempt, but no explanation was forthcoming. Maybe our pilots on the board can weigh in with how common it is to abort twice on the same landing.

35

Well, let’s see. I’ve never experienced it in an airliner, but…

I used to go flying right seat with my friend Ken in his Cessna 337A Skymaster about twice a month. He was always looking for someplace different to fly into, and one Saturday we flew into a small airport next to a lake - in fact, one end of the runway jutted out over the lake.

The other end practically butted up against a mountain range.

The way the wind was blowing, Ken decided to go in on the mountain range side. However, he sort of decided this at the last minute, so we dropped onto the runway from the right side after losing about 1000 feet of altitude in what seemed like 10 seconds.

Ken had everything under control, and as he was about to drop the Cessna on the runway, I was all set to congratulate him on a brilliant and beautiful move.

Until a gust of wind caught the right wing and tipped us over to the left.

Ken said a choice word and hit the throttle to full, righting the plane and pulling us up off the runway. Not until we hit the 1000 foot level did I feel safe.

We came in from the lake side the second time, and the Cessna kissed the runway so softly I didn’t even feel it. That time Ken earned his congratulations.

Only time I’ve ever had to go around.

36

Had a bad (IMO) landing once in a helicopter (Bell 206?) landing on a small ship with a bit of a sea running. No bear claw, and the pad wasn’t much bigger than the skid footprint (or maybe it just seemed that way from the experience). Pilot touched down, but the ship heaved and the chopper slid to once side of the pad before sufficient weight was on the skids to stop. As we rolled the other way, the pilot added power to shift us back to the center of the pad. I’m sure he knew what he was doing, but it sure didn’t feel that way.

37

[Spicolli] Man[/Spicolli]…this thread settles it for me. I’m never flying again. insert shaking/barfing smilie here

38

You should see what the mechanics have to pull out of the wheel well! Deer at 130 mph tend to make a mess.

It would be nice if the crew could let you know what’s going on in real time but they’re a little busy on a missed approach.

39

If the traffic flow is congested they might have problems losing altitude to set up for a normal approach. If every spoiler is fully deployed that’s a good indication of this condition. If it was a training flight that could account for it. I’ve watched people in the right seat get nervous just because they are being checked out. kinda like walking on a 12" beam suspended up high. It’s no different than normal walking but the self-conscious aspect of it can be unnerving.

40

Missed approach coming into Orly on an Air France flight, from, er, Tunis, I think it was, back in the late '80s. We were at least a mile short of the runway and at 3-4000 ft when he started his go-around, so it wasn’t particularly scary.

Aborted takeoff on an Embraer Bandierante of some local commuter line at Santa Barbara airport, mid '80s. On another flight, same airline, the main cabin door seal failed in flight. Not particularly dangerous, I guess, but certainly noisy and scary when it happens suddenly like that. Stopped using that particular carrier after the second incident.

The most, uh, questionable experience of all my flying, however, was the very first time I flew to Angola from Paris, in the mid-90s. This was at tender mercies of TAAG, the national airline, our mount being a well-worn but still majestic DC-8. I got an inkling of what I was in for when the airline handed out vouchers for a meal at the CDG airport terminal before the planned 12-hour flight, announcing there would be no food service in the air.

Aboard, I watched fascinated from my window seat as a cockroach crawled out from behind the interior paneling while we taxied down the runway. We eventually lumbered away sometime late in the evening and I fell into a fitful sleep. Several hours into the flight, somewhere over North Africa, I was awakened by the pilot announcing that due to an unspecified mechanical issue with one of the engines, we would be putting down for repairs. This entailed flying all the way back to Lisbon, Portugal, three hours in the opposite direction to our intended destination, so I guess either it wasn’t all that urgent, or they couldn’t get the plane serviced anywhere else without having to pay cash up front. We disembarked into an empty, silent terminal at something like three in the morning, milled around like cattle for a couple of hours with nothing provided to eat or drink, were herded wearily back aboard our four-engined chariot and set off again, eventually making Luanda about 18 hours past our scheduled arrival time.

Air France got the company’s custom on the route after that, thank Christ.