You are seconds from landing. The runway fills the window, the engines seem quiet and the aircraft is descending normally. Then the engine noise rises sharply, you are pushed back into the seat and the aircraft begins climbing. For a nervous flyer, a go-around can feel like something has gone badly wrong. Operationally, the opposite interpretation is often more useful: the crew has decided that continuing the landing is not the best option and has deliberately returned the aircraft to a safe climbing flight path.
The FAA describes a go-around as a safe, routine manoeuvre performed at a pilot’s discretion or at the request of air traffic control. It discontinues the landing approach and returns the aircraft to an altitude and configuration from which another approach can be made.[1] A go-around is therefore not an uncontrolled escape from a dangerous situation. It is an established manoeuvre for preserving safety margins.
Why pilots do not have to land
An approach is not a commitment to touch down. Airline crews continuously assess whether the aircraft is in a suitable position, configuration and energy state to continue. Operators use stabilised-approach criteria defining parameters such as speed, flight path, configuration, descent rate and checklist completion. If required criteria are not met by the operator’s specified gate, or become unacceptable later, a go-around is the correct response.
The FAA explicitly states that go-arounds are typically initiated when a pilot or controller is not completely satisfied that the requirements for a stabilised approach and safe landing are in place.[2] This is a useful insight for nervous passengers: aviation does not reward a crew for forcing a landing simply because the aircraft is close to the runway.
Common reasons for a go-around
There is no single cause. The runway may still be occupied by another aircraft or vehicle. Air traffic control may instruct the aircraft to go around to preserve separation. The preceding aircraft may take longer than expected to vacate. Wind can change. Visibility can deteriorate. The aircraft can become too high, too fast or otherwise unstable. The crew may not have the required visual reference at the applicable point on an instrument approach. A technical indication can require additional time. The pilots can also decide that something simply does not look right.
None of those reasons automatically implies an emergency. In a busy airport system, a go-around can result from traffic sequencing alone.
What happens in the cockpit?
The exact procedure is aircraft-specific, but the broad sequence is predictable. The pilot flying commands or applies go-around thrust, arrests the descent and establishes the required climb attitude. The crew then manages configuration, typically retracting landing gear once a positive climb is established and retracting flaps in stages according to speed and the aircraft procedure. The other pilot monitors the flight path, makes calls, handles communications and supports configuration changes.
The sudden increase in engine sound is therefore expected. Engines that had been producing relatively low approach thrust are now being asked to provide the thrust needed to stop the descent and climb. That can feel dramatic because the change happens quickly.
Why the nose may rise sharply
The aircraft must change its vertical flight path from descending to climbing. That requires a change in pitch attitude and energy. To a passenger looking sideways rather than forward, the pitch change can feel much larger than it is. Acceleration also presses the body into the seat, adding to the impression of a steep climb.
Modern flight guidance systems can provide go-around guidance, but the pilots remain responsible for flying and monitoring the manoeuvre. A go-around is trained repeatedly because it combines high workload, changing configuration and proximity to the ground.
What does air traffic control do?
Controllers are part of the process. If ATC initiates the go-around, it will provide appropriate instructions. If the crew initiates it, the pilots inform ATC and the controller integrates the aircraft back into the traffic flow. Depending on the type of approach and local procedure, the aircraft may follow a published missed-approach path or receive radar vectors and altitude instructions.
The FAA notes that an aircraft executing a go-around may be directed back into the traffic pattern or otherwise instructed while appropriate separation is provided.[3] At a major airport this can mean several minutes of repositioning before another approach.
Why the landing gear and flaps make noise again
During the approach, the aircraft has been configured for low-speed flight: landing gear extended and high-lift devices deployed. During a go-around that configuration must be progressively changed for climbing flight. The gear retracts and the flaps or slats are moved according to the required sequence.
Passengers may therefore hear many of the same mechanical noises they heard after takeoff: gear movement, doors, hydraulic or electric actuators and changing airflow around the wing. These noises do not indicate that parts are moving unexpectedly. They are the sound of the aircraft changing from landing configuration back toward climb configuration.
Can the aircraft run out of fuel after a go-around?
Flight planning does not assume that every flight will land immediately on its first approach. Regulatory fuel-planning requirements and airline procedures account for operational contingencies and, where required, alternate-airport and reserve fuel. The exact fuel scheme depends on the jurisdiction, operation and circumstances, so there is no single universal reserve figure that should be quoted for every airline flight.
Crews also monitor fuel throughout the flight. If repeated approaches, holding or weather begin consuming planned margins, the pilots make decisions accordingly, including diversion when necessary. A go-around is therefore considered within the broader fuel-management system rather than being an unforeseen use of fuel.
What if the weather is bad?
Bad weather is one of the situations in which a go-around demonstrates the value of having a defined decision process. Instrument approaches have minima and required visual references. If the applicable requirements are not satisfied, the aircraft does not simply continue descending in the hope that the runway will appear.
Wind is also dynamic. A sudden change or an unstable approach can prompt a go-around even when the weather is otherwise acceptable. Pilots can then reassess conditions, attempt another approach if appropriate or divert.
Why pilots sometimes go around from only a few feet
A go-around can be initiated very late. The fact that the aircraft is close to the runway does not remove the crew’s ability to discontinue the landing. A runway incursion, unexpected aircraft movement, wind change or unstable touchdown situation can make continuing less desirable than climbing away.
From the cabin, a very late go-around can be startling because passengers were mentally prepared for the wheels to touch. Operationally, the principle remains the same: landing is optional until the crew determines it is safe and appropriate to complete it.
Does a go-around mean the pilots made a mistake?
Not necessarily. A go-around is a risk-control action, not a verdict on pilot skill. Some causes originate outside the aircraft, such as runway occupancy or ATC spacing. Others arise because changing conditions make an approach no longer meet the required criteria. Even where the aircraft has become unstable, abandoning the approach is the disciplined response.
The FAA has described go-arounds as a crucial safety procedure and has promoted them as a defence against landing accidents.[2][4] A safety culture in which pilots feel pressure to land at all costs would be less desirable than one in which discontinuing an approach is normalised.
Why a second approach can feel different
After a go-around, ATC may vector the aircraft onto a different path, the wind may have changed, the crew may use another runway or the traffic sequence may be different. The second approach can therefore be longer, shorter, smoother or bumpier. None of those differences alone tells a passenger whether the first go-around was serious.
The crew will have time during the climb and repositioning to stabilise the aircraft, complete the required actions and prepare for the next approach. If a technical or weather issue makes another landing attempt inappropriate, the flight can proceed to an alternate airport instead.
The human-factors reason go-arounds matter
One of aviation’s recurring safety lessons is the danger of continuation bias: the tendency to continue with a plan because significant effort has already been invested in it. Stabilised-approach policies create a clear decision framework that counters this tendency. If the approach does not satisfy the required conditions, the correct action is defined before the crew is under maximum time pressure.
This is a broader feature of airline safety. Checklists, call-outs, standard operating procedures and decision gates are designed to reduce reliance on improvisation.
What the safety data says about the wider system
EASA’s Annual Safety Review 2025 reported more than 7.7 million flights in Europe during 2024, operated by 623 AOC holders. The report recorded three fatal accidents in European commercial air transport aeroplane operations with three fatalities.[5] Those statistics do not mean risk is zero, nor do they isolate go-arounds. They show the scale of the system in which standardised risk controls are applied.
The FAA similarly describes the go-around as one component of maintaining a safety “bubble” around landing operations.[2] Landing is a phase where speed, runway condition, weather, traffic and aircraft configuration converge, so the ability to discontinue an approach is fundamental.
How to interpret a go-around as a passenger
If you hear the engines accelerate and feel the aircraft climb away, the most accurate first assumption is not “the landing failed”. It is “the crew is executing a recognised manoeuvre instead of accepting conditions they do not want”. The seat-belt sign will normally remain on, and the cabin crew may remain seated because the aircraft is again in a high-workload phase.
You may not immediately receive an explanation. During the manoeuvre, the pilots’ priorities are flying the aircraft, navigating and communicating with ATC. A passenger announcement can come later when workload permits. The delay itself is not evidence that the crew is hiding a problem.
For someone afraid of flying, this reframing is valuable. A go-around can feel alarming precisely because the safety system is doing something visible. The engines get louder, the aircraft climbs and the expected landing is postponed. But those are signs of a deliberate decision to create another opportunity for a safe landing rather than force the first one.
Sources / Technical References
- [1] FAA, Go-Arounds Explained — https://www.faa.gov/newsroom/go-arounds-explained
- [2] FAA, Safety: In The Air — https://www.faa.gov/safety/air
- [3] FAA Air Traffic Control, Chapter 7 Approaches — https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications/atpubs/atc_html/chap7_section_4.html
- [4] FAA, Fly Safe: Prevent Loss of Control Accidents — https://www.faa.gov/newsroom/fly-safe-prevent-loss-control-accidents-35
- [5] EASA, Annual Safety Review 2025 — https://www.easa.europa.eu/en/document-library/general-publications/annual-safety-review-2025
- [6] UK CAA, Fear of flying — https://www.caa.co.uk/air-passengers/about-your-trip/health-and-medical/air-travel-and-your-health/
Disclaimer: This article is for general aviation education and fear-of-flying information. Procedures differ by aircraft, operator, airport and circumstances. It is not operational guidance. Cockpit King makes every reasonable effort to verify technical claims against authoritative sources.