The Go-Around, the Committed Landing Illusion, and the Checkride Maneuver Most Students Practice Last and Need First

The go-around is a required task on the private pilot checkride under the Airman Certification Standards (ACS), yet most students reach the pre-solo stage having practiced it far less than any other landing maneuver. The gap between how often it is taught and how often it is needed explains a significant share of landing accidents. Understanding both when to call for a go-around and how to execute it correctly can close that gap.

Why Do Pilots Talk Themselves Out of Going Around?

There is a well-documented psychological phenomenon in aviation called plan continuation bias. Once a pilot commits to an approach, the mental effort required to abandon it increases as the runway gets closer. Workload climbs, options narrow, and the brain begins arguing that stopping takes more effort than continuing. That argument is wrong - but it is persuasive.

For student pilots, the effect is compounded by repetition. After twenty, thirty, or forty landings, the brain has built a strong expectation: approaches end with touchdowns. The go-around asks the pilot to override that expectation in real time, at low altitude, with full hands on the controls. Without deliberate practice, the committed landing illusion wins.

The remedy is reframing the maneuver. A go-around should feel like a routine course correction, not an emergency response. That feeling only develops through intentional, repeated practice.

When Should You Execute a Go-Around?

The ACS does not specify a single fixed altitude because the decision varies by aircraft and situation. There are three clear categories every pre-solo student should be able to recite.

Category 1 - Unstabilized approach. By approximately 500 feet AGL on final, the airplane should be configured for landing, on speed, on glidepath, and tracking the centerline. If any one of those conditions is significantly off and cannot be corrected with a small, smooth adjustment, the go-around decision is already made. 500 feet is the widely accepted stabilized approach gate; internalize it.

Category 2 - Runway hazard. An aircraft that hasn’t cleared, a vehicle on the pavement, or any object occupying the runway. This is not a judgment call - it is the only response.

Category 3 - Developing situation on short final or over the threshold. This is the hardest category because the runway feels within reach. Floating past the 1,000-foot markers, a crosswind correction that got away, or excess speed that will produce a touchdown in the middle third of a short runway - any of these conditions warrant an immediate go-around. This stage-specific maneuver is called a balked landing, and it deserves its own dedicated practice time.

How Do You Execute a Go-Around Step by Step?

Six steps, applied in order, every time.

Step 1 - Full throttle. Not most of the way - full. In most training aircraft, including the Cessna 172 and the Piper Cherokee, full power should be established within the first two seconds of making the go-around call. The engine needs time to spool up, and stopping the descent is the first priority.

Step 2 - Pitch attitude. Establish a positive, controlled climb attitude. In the Cessna 172, that is approximately 10 degrees nose up - not 15, not aggressive. The goal is to stop the descent and establish a climb, not to zoom. Yanking the nose up aggressively at low airspeed with partial flaps extended trades speed for altitude at exactly the wrong moment.

Step 3 - Flaps in stages. This is the most common execution error on checkrides. Retracting all flaps at once from the full-flap position causes a sudden, significant loss of lift at low altitude during a critical transition. The airplane can sink toward the ground before the climb is re-established. The correct procedure is staged retraction. In the Cessna 172, the Pilot’s Operating Handbook (POH) specifies going from full flaps to 10 degrees, then retracting completely only after a positive climb rate is confirmed. Know your specific aircraft’s procedure.

Step 4 - Trim. Full power in a go-around creates significant forward pressure on the controls and a strong pitch-up tendency. The trim is still set for approach. Get it working for you as the climb is established. This step is frequently neglected under pressure because the hands are already full.

Step 5 - Carburetor heat off. If the aircraft uses carb heat and it was on during the approach, turn it off before or as full power is applied. Carburetor heat reduces engine power output - acceptable during a normal approach, but not when maximum power is required.

Step 6 - Track the extended runway centerline. During the climb, students often drift because attention is divided between power, flaps, and trim. You are still in the traffic pattern and there may be other aircraft. Track the centerline, make the radio call, and turn crosswind at the appropriate altitude.

What Does the ACS Require for a Go-Around on a Checkride?

The Airman Certification Standards list the go-around and rejected landing as a required task in the Landings section of the private pilot checkride. The examiner must introduce an unstabilized approach or a go-around scenario. The applicant must demonstrate recognition of when to initiate, proper technique, appropriate configuration changes, and the ability to return to the traffic pattern.

The examiner may deliberately set up an unstabilized approach to force the scenario. The correct response is to recognize it and execute without hesitation - not to attempt a save. A student who tries to salvage a bad approach is demonstrating precisely the kind of plan continuation bias that appears in accident reports, and the examiner is watching for it.

The stabilized approach gate should be internalized deeply enough that the student is calling for the go-around at 500 feet before any examiner-introduced scenario is necessary. That level of self-monitoring distinguishes a pass from a bust.

What Are the Most Common Go-Around Failures on a Checkride?

Hesitation. The examiner introduces the scenario and the student takes three or four seconds too long to act. Below 500 feet, time is not on your side. Make the call.

Wrong flap retraction sequence. Retracting all flaps at once at low altitude can produce a sink at exactly the wrong moment. Know the sequence in your specific POH before the checkride, not during it.

Losing situational awareness after the go-around. Students initiate correctly, climb out, then drift off heading or turn crosswind too early because the hard part feels finished. Fly the airplane from pattern entry to pattern exit.

Forgetting the radio call. At a non-towered field, call it. Something like: “Traffic, Cessna four-five-seven is going around, runway two-four.” It informs other traffic of your position and intentions, and it tells the examiner that pattern awareness extends beyond the individual aircraft.

How Should You Practice Go-Arounds at Each Stage of Training?

Pre-solo students should build full go-arounds into regular pattern work - not touch-and-goes, but intentional setups where a normal approach is flown, the go-around is executed at 500 feet AGL, and the entire maneuver is flown back to pattern altitude.

Post-solo students working toward a checkride should add balked landings: go-arounds initiated at approximately 20 feet over the threshold. Flying this transition close to the ground builds the muscle memory needed when the situation actually demands it.

Students in checkride prep should take fifteen minutes with the POH and walk the go-around checklist out loud. Know the flap sequence for the specific aircraft. Know what happens to carb heat. Verbalizing the procedure during the checkride demonstrates to the examiner that the maneuver is being managed - not merely reacted to.

The FAA’s Airplane Flying Handbook and the Airman Certification Standards both cover this maneuver in depth and are available free at faa.gov.

Key Takeaways

• The go-around is a required ACS task on the private pilot checkride - practice it with the same frequency as any other required maneuver.
• The 500-foot AGL stabilized approach gate is the primary decision trigger. If the approach is significantly off at that point, execute the go-around.
• Retract flaps in stages. In the Cessna 172, the POH specifies full flaps → 10 degrees → fully retracted after positive climb is established.
• Plan continuation bias is real and well-documented. The decision to go around must be practiced deliberately until the response is reflexive.
• A go-around is not a failed approach. It is a safety margin built into every approach ever flown.