Is a go-around considered a failure on a checkride?

No. The ACS requires examiners to evaluate go-arounds, and a timely, well-executed go-around demonstrates sound judgment. Examiners respect decisive action far more than a salvaged bad approach.

At what altitude is it too late to go around?

As long as the aircraft has flying speed and the engine can produce power, a go-around is almost always safer than forcing a bad landing. Pilots have successfully executed go-arounds from as low as 50 feet. The key is immediate, decisive action — full power, manage pitch and rudder, retract flaps incrementally.

Why shouldn't I retract all flaps at once during a go-around?

Removing all flaps simultaneously at low speed causes an abrupt loss of lift, which can result in a dramatic sink toward the ground. Retract one notch at a time, allowing the aircraft to accelerate and climb between each reduction. Follow your POH's specific procedure.

How often should I practice go-arounds?

Practice them regularly, not just during flight reviews. Incorporate at least one intentional go-around into every few pattern sessions so the maneuver becomes automatic rather than an emergency reaction.

What's the best way to overcome the mental resistance to going around?

Brief a go-around gate before every approach — a specific altitude where you will go around if the approach isn't stabilized. Pre-committing the decision removes the in-the-moment deliberation that lets continuation bias take over.

The go-around and why the safest decision you'll ever make feels like a failure

The go-around is the single best decision a pilot can make when an approach isn’t working, yet it remains the most underused and undertrained maneuver in general aviation. Continuation bias, social pressure, and lack of realistic practice cause pilots at every experience level to force landings from approaches that should have been abandoned. Adopting a go-around-first mindset — where every approach is a go-around unless all conditions are met for landing — can fundamentally change your safety margin.

Why Do Pilots Resist Going Around?

The resistance to executing a go-around comes from three sources, all of which work against you in the moment.

Continuation bias is the most powerful. After several minutes flying the approach — talking to tower, configuring the airplane, mentally committing to touchdown — abandoning that plan feels like starting over. The deeper you get into a course of action, the harder it is to deviate, even when the evidence says you should.

Social pressure, real or imagined, is the second factor. Another aircraft in the pattern behind you, a passenger watching, an instructor in the right seat, or a checkride in progress can all create a perceived expectation to land. The truth: going around looks professional. Controllers expect it. Examiners respect it. No one who matters will judge you for it.

Lack of realistic practice is the most fixable problem. Most pilots practice go-arounds a handful of times during primary training and maybe once during a flight review. They practice the maneuver, but not the real-world decision under pressure from a genuinely deteriorating approach.

What Makes an Approach Stabilized?

A stabilized approach means you are on a consistent glidepath, at a consistent airspeed, in a consistent configuration, with a consistent rate of descent. Consistency is what makes landings predictable.

The standard taught by most flight schools: by 500 feet AGL in visual conditions, you should have:

Airspeed within 5 knots of your target
Descent rate steady, typically 400–700 feet per minute depending on the aircraft
Configuration set — flaps where you want them, gear down if retractable
Alignment on or very close to extended centerline and proper glidepath

If any of those parameters aren’t met by 500 feet, the textbook answer is go around.

The problem with training environments is that instructors often let students work through slightly off approaches, coaching corrections at 300 feet. That builds skill, but it also builds a dangerous habit: the belief that you can always salvage it. Most of the time you can. Until the one time you can’t.

What Do the Accident Reports Show?

NTSB reports show the same pattern repeatedly. Pilots who forced landings from approaches that were never going to work — too fast, too high, too far down the runway. They touch down with 2,000 feet of pavement behind them and run off the end. Or they drag in an approach so slow and low they clip trees short of the threshold.

In almost every case, a go-around at any point during the approach would have prevented the accident entirely.

When Exactly Should You Go Around?

Knowing when to commit is often the hardest part. These five scenarios should always trigger a go-around:

Excess airspeed on final. You’re 15 knots fast, floating, eating up runway. Do not force the airplane onto the pavement. A hard landing from an excess energy state can collapse the nose gear and damage the firewall.

Runway conflict. Another airplane taxis onto the runway, or someone announces a position that conflicts with yours. Runway incursions kill people. Your right of way is irrelevant if someone is on the centerline.

Loss of alignment in gusty conditions. A gust pushes you 30 degrees off centerline at 100 feet. If you’re not back on centerline and stable by 50 feet, go around. Arriving at the runway sideways is how side-load gear failures happen.

Unfamiliar airport surprises. The runway is shorter than planned, or there’s an obstacle you didn’t see in the Chart Supplement. Fly back around the pattern with the new information you just gained.

Something doesn’t feel right. You can’t articulate it, but the approach feels wrong. Trust that instinct. Sort out what bothered you on the upwind leg. Experienced pilots will tell you that gut feeling has saved them more than once.

How Do You Execute a Go-Around Safely?

The maneuver itself is straightforward. The challenge is executing it smoothly when your brain is urging you to just land.

Full power. Carb heat off or mixture full forward.
Right rudder to stay coordinated against left-turning tendencies.
Forward pressure on the yoke to manage the pitch-up tendency.
Establish climb attitude — fly the airplane, don’t just react to it.
Retract flaps incrementally. Go from full to the first notch. Let the airplane accelerate and climb. Then remove the next notch. Never yank all flaps up at once while slow — the sudden lift loss can cause a dramatic sink.
Maintain runway centerline, make appropriate callouts, and set up for another attempt or pattern departure.

The specific flap retraction sequence depends on your aircraft’s Pilot Operating Handbook (POH) — know it before you need it.

What Do Examiners Want to See on a Checkride?

The Airman Certification Standards (ACS) for the private pilot checkride test go-arounds explicitly. Examiners look for a timely decision — that word is doing significant work. They don’t want to see you wrestle with a bad approach to 50 feet before finally adding power.

They want to see you recognize the approach isn’t working and make the call while you still have altitude and options. They also evaluate a smooth power transition, proper flap management, positive rate of climb, centerline maintenance, and appropriate callouts.

How Can You Make Go-Arounds Easier?

Brief the go-around before every landing. Before turning base, say to yourself: “If this approach isn’t stabilized by 300 feet, I’m going around.”

This mental pre-commitment transforms the go-around from a reactive decision into a planned response. You’ve already decided. The only question is whether the conditions trigger it. When you’ve pre-decided, continuation bias and social pressure lose most of their power.

Why Does the Airline Model Matter for GA Pilots?

At the airlines, an unstabilized approach results in a mandatory go-around. It’s not the captain’s discretion — it’s policy. If the stabilized approach criteria aren’t met, you go around. Period. The airlines have the lowest accident rate in the history of aviation, and that culture of disciplined decision-making is a major reason why.

General aviation hasn’t adopted the same standard, and the accident statistics reflect it. The mental shift that makes the difference: every approach is a go-around unless conditions are met for landing. You’re not landing unless everything is right. Same situation, completely different mindset.

Key Takeaways

The go-around is not a failure — it is the safest and most professional response to an unstabilized approach
Brief the go-around before every landing to pre-commit the decision and reduce the influence of continuation bias
By 500 feet AGL, airspeed, descent rate, configuration, and alignment should all be stabilized — if they aren’t, go around
Retract flaps incrementally during the go-around; yanking them up at once while slow can cause dangerous sink
Flip your default mindset: you are going around unless everything is right for landing, not landing unless something is wrong