"Uh...negative, Tower...going around" - lesson learned

killbilly

Vocals, Lyrics, Triangle, Washboard, Kittens
Thought this might benefit some of the newbie pilots like m'self about there. I'm sitting at about 110TT, fyi...this is a bit long, but might be worth reading.

Had a meeting to be at in Dallas yesterday, and didn't feel like driving. Weather was great, so I signed out the 172 I've been flying and flew up to Dallas. The meeting was in Addison, so landing at ADS would have been a good idea, however, with the amount of traffic going in and out of DFW, I decided to play it cautious and went into TKI instead. It was busier yesterday than I had ever experienced even on the edges of the Class B. I mean - there were planes EVERYWHERE, even skirting under the east side of the Class B shelf. I was really glad of regional approach control giving me traffic advisories.

So I did my meeting, went back to the airport, topped off the tanks and departed. Much bumpier going out, but I picked up regional approach, and they moved me around, again, under the outside shelf of the Class B, until I made it south and they handed me off to Waco. Again, tons of traffic. Had a Citation pass over me about a thousand feet going the opposite direction - looked much closer, and the whole time I was head-on-a-swivel. It was also a lot bumpier going back, and between that, and the traffic, the stress level was higher than anything else I'd experienced to date. Still, I could hear Larry sitting next to me, (in my head) going, "Bill, just fly the plane. Aviate, navigate, communicate."

Getting back into Austin was even busier - Approach drops me from 4500 to 2500 ..."immediately," so I comply with that and drop the airplane like a rock. Coming in for a right downwind to 35R, there are airplanes all over the place, more and more people checking in on freq...as I get downwind, they start having me do 360s for a bit to get some others in. Again - this was new for me, but we'd practiced it before, and I wasn't worried.

Finally they clear me, with the instruction "make short approach." Now - this is compounded by the fact that 35R is 4,000 feet shorter than normal right now, which is not a big deal for a 172, but it does change things a bit.

I start getting in a hurry, trying to slow down, get the flaps down, get slowed down. I felt additional pressure because a Bonanza was already on a 4 mile final and they asked him to slow down for me.

So a whole lot of stuff was happening and I was outside my normal routine of when to set things up, etc...bottom line was that when I turned final, I was WAY too high and fast...like...I was about 400 feet over the numbers and still doing about 75-80kts...didn't lose enough altitude although I didn't try a full-slip because I had full flaps down. I need to learn more about blocking the rudder before I try that. In a 152, I wouldn't have even blinked.

Anyway, I know I can't land this....

"Tower, Skyhawk 1234, unable to land, going around." Put in the power, pitched up, retracted flaps...

Now at this point I was SURE I had screwed everything up for everyone, that the tower was going to be pissed, that I was going to get rattled more than I already was. But they simply told me to make a mid-field crosswind and set up again. It was a non-event.

I got it lower this time around although I was still a little high. I floated it, but got slow enough to get it down - touched down right on the stall horn, and make taxiway Kilo (which was the one I wanted anyway.) And I was a little rattled, but it worked. The touchdown wasn't even that bad considering the crosswind I was dealing with, too. All was well. Usable airplane.

Here's the moral of the story for you other newbies:

Sometimes it's gonna get busy, and things you learned in your PPL training WILL come back when you need them. I need to practice shorter approaches simply because I didn't have enough familiarity with a slam-dunk in that airplane.

But above all, just remember to fly the plane. Always. Fly the plane. And it's perfectly okay to go around. Always. They drill it into our heads in training, but once you've been flying on your own a while, things build up and you get a little complacent. You don't WANT to go around. You WANT to save the landing. Don't.

Tower and Approach are there to help get you down safely, but no one is going to question a go-around if you hose up the approach, which I did.

Good lesson yesterday. Biggest thing I learned was that I need to practice "outside the box" for things that might pop up...like having to fly a tight approach to a short(er) runway.

Hope this is beneficial.
 
Good job recognizing when you weren't able to get there from here with the landing approach, and taking it around for another try; rather than force yourself into a square corner you wouldn't be able to get out of.
 
Good post, alot of people can benefit from this. Glad it all turned out ok and you got a lesson out of it!
 
First time reading your post I read your total time as 1000 not 110, so as I read through it I was thinking how it was possible you hadn't had that much experience with that much time. Much clearer when I reread your total time. Good post, I've had some similar experiences. And with experience comes becoming a better pilot.

Jtsastre
 
Eh, it happens. I came VERY close to doing the same thing today but it was in a jet with 50 people in the back. Charlie West Approach asked me to turn base from where I was because a CJ Saab was on the final about 8 out and they wanted to sneak me in. For what ever reason I made the turn even though we were about a mile from the end of the runway and rather high and fast.

In the end it worked out but there was about a 30 second time period where I was considering calling the whole thing off and breaking off the approach to let the SAAB land first.
 
.It was busier...Finally they clear me, with the instruction "make short approach." ......I start getting in a hurry....I was WAY too high and fast...Anyway, I know I can't land this....

"Tower, Skyhawk 1234, unable to land, going around." Put in the power, pitched up, retracted flaps...

but It was a non-event.

But above all, just remember to fly the plane. Always. Fly the plane. And it's perfectly okay to go around. Always.
Hope this is beneficial.

Accidents and incidents usually follow a slow evolution. We respond fairly well to red lights and horns but the other stuff. It can sneak up on us. At some point when you see you are having to continually patch your solution to make it work, as you so wisely have posted, GO AROUND. It's okay.

Well done.
 
I had to go around on my PPL checkride. It was embarassing, but the examiner actually said good job.
 
As a CFI it was one of the prouder moments for me and when I knew my students were finally getting the big picture when they would decide to go around on their own.

When you are a CFI a go around by one of your students is very impressive.
 
As a CFI it was one of the prouder moments for me and when I knew my students were finally getting the big picture when they would decide to go around on their own.

When you are a CFI a go around by one of your students is very impressive.

That's the truth. I have instrument students that wont do a go around till I finally do something. I told one of my students to go around on final and he decided to ask "why" instead of act. I had to executed the go around on my own as a result. Right after I took the airplane he noticed the group of birds dispersing under the aircraft.

Lately seagulls have been congregating on the numbers of the runway. They blend in perfectly with the white numbers and the gray pavement and are hard to see till you get right up on them.
 
Very good post! :D

It still stresses me out when I get snuck in before a couple jets (and they tell me). It makes me take all my turns a little to tight. I'm getting better but I don't have to proper perspective on how fast a Gulfstream vs Learjet vs King Air will be on a 5 miles final when I'm on base.

Just one little thing: My instructor always beat me to death about conducting the go around procedure (throttle, flaps, + ROC) BEFORE calling the tower and telling them. Is the order a big deal, I don't know...
 
As a CFI it was one of the prouder moments for me and when I knew my students were finally getting the big picture when they would decide to go around on their own.

When you are a CFI a go around by one of your students is very impressive.
I soloed my first student on Saturday. His first approach resulted in a go around. I literally clapped, and had a huge smile on my face :)
 
My instructor always beat me to death about conducting the go around procedure (throttle, flaps, + ROC) BEFORE calling the tower and telling them. Is the order a big deal, I don't know...

Yes. Fly the plane first, worry about talking when you have time a little bit later.
 
Sounds like you displayed good airmanship with your decision. Sometimes the best word in aviation is "unable". It's surprising how busy AUS gets sometimes with the mix of GA and airlines, since remarkably there's only one airport for a city with a population of 750,000.
 
Sounds like you displayed good airmanship with your decision. Sometimes the best word in aviation is "unable". It's surprising how busy AUS gets sometimes with the mix of GA and airlines, since remarkably there's only one airport for a city with a population of 750,000.
:yeahthat:

Nice job.
 
Very good post! :D

It still stresses me out when I get snuck in before a couple jets (and they tell me). It makes me take all my turns a little to tight. I'm getting better but I don't have to proper perspective on how fast a Gulfstream vs Learjet vs King Air will be on a 5 miles final when I'm on base.
.

If you are not comfortable with the clearance, don't accept it. Fly YOUR approach.

FWIW, most jets are around 130-140kts MAX on approach. So, maybe a 5 mile final is 2-22.5 minutes? Time your next normal approach and see how long it takes from downwind turn to base to clearing. It may work.
 
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