Expert Opinion
AINsight: No Harm, No Foul, Just Go-around
Levels of risk during an approach vary depending on the pilot, approach, and environment.

In a perfect world, every approach would be stable, all unstable approaches would end in a go-around, and pilots would comply with every written rule. In that perfect world, fewer airplanes would run off the runway, land short, or have a tailstrike. Unfortunately, our world is anything but perfect.

Stabilized approach criteria, “no-fault” go-around policies, and adherence to standard operating procedures (SOPs) are solid defenses against approach and landing accidents (ALA). Yet these accidents continue to occur at an alarming rate. In fact, the most common phase of flight for accidents is the approach and landing phase.

Stuart “Kipp” Lau
Contributor - Safety
About the author

Pilot, safety expert, consultant, and aviation journalist Stuart “Kipp” Lau writes about flight safety and airmanship for AIN.

See more by this author