The stabilized approach and knowing when to go around

A stabilized approach means meeting specific airspeed, descent rate, configuration, flight path, and mental readiness criteria by a defined decision point on final. If any criterion isn’t met by 500 feet AGL in visual conditions, the correct response is a go-around — every time, without negotiation. The go-around is not a failure. It is a normal, planned maneuver that the best pilots in the world execute regularly.

Why Do Pilots Treat the Go-Around Like a Failure?

Airline crews go around routinely. They brief it before every approach because they expect it might happen. No one loses sleep over it.

But student pilots and many private pilots treat the go-around like an admission of defeat. That mindset is what gets people into trouble. A go-around is a normal, planned maneuver — and fixing that mental framework is the first step toward safer landings.

What Are the Five Criteria for a Stabilized Approach?

1. Airspeed

You should be at your target approach speed, typically 1.3 × Vso or whatever your POH recommends. For a Cessna 172, that’s roughly 60–65 knots on short final. Coming in at 80 knots over the numbers means you are not stabilized.

2. Descent Rate

A normal approach in a light single runs approximately 500 feet per minute on a standard three-degree glide path. If you’re descending at 1,000 fpm or more on short final, that’s not an approach — that’s a dive with optimism.

3. Configuration

Flaps set. Gear down (retractable). Fuel on the correct tank. Lights on. Carb heat as appropriate. Everything should be in place before short final. If you’re reaching for the flap handle at 200 feet, you are behind the airplane.

4. Flight Path

Are you aligned with the runway centerline? Is your aim point correct on the windshield? If you’re offset by a runway width or significantly above or below glide path inside half a mile, the safest correction is almost always a go-around.

5. Mental State

This one doesn’t get enough attention. Task saturation, fixation, anxiety from traffic pressure — these are all legitimate reasons to go around. A distracted pilot does not make good landings.

When Should You Make the Go-Around Decision?

All five criteria must be met by a decision gate. For light GA aircraft in visual conditions, 500 feet AGL is the standard rule of thumb. If anything is off at that point, initiate the go-around without hesitation.

Some pilots set their gate at 1,000 feet AGL, which provides even more margin. This is especially smart early in training — the higher the gate, the more time you have to execute safely and set up for another approach.

What Does a Bad Approach Actually Look Like?

Picture this: you’re on final for runway 27 at your home field on a calm day. You turned final a little wide, so you’re correcting back toward centerline. You’re also high, so you pitch down to lose altitude. Your airspeed creeps to 75 knots. Now you’re fast, not quite on centerline, and passing through 300 feet.

Most student pilots try to fix all three problems simultaneously — bank harder, pull power, force the airplane onto the runway. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it ends in the grass, off the side of the runway, or in a hard landing that bends the firewall.

The correct answer: go around. The whole thing takes about three minutes. Three minutes for a fresh start versus gambling on a bad outcome.

How Do You Fight Plan Continuation Bias?

Plan continuation bias is the psychological tendency to resist changing course once you’ve committed to a plan. You set up the approach, you’ve been in the pattern for several minutes, and your brain desperately wants to land — even when the evidence says the approach isn’t working.

This bias has contributed to countless runway excursions and hard landings in general aviation. The antidote is a predefined gate. When you set hard criteria in advance, you take the decision out of the heat of the moment and put it where it belongs: in the briefing.

Try this reframe: the go-around is the default outcome of every approach. You are not flying an approach to land. You are flying an approach to evaluate whether landing is appropriate. The landing must be earned by meeting all five criteria. When the default is go-around, the decision becomes much easier.

How Do You Brief and Execute a Go-Around?

Before entering the pattern, brief the go-around out loud: “If I am not stabilized by 500 feet, I will go around. Full power, pitch for climb, flaps up incrementally.” Make the decision before you need it, because in the moment your brain will try to convince you that you can fix it.

The execution sequence takes roughly 10 seconds:

1. Power — Full throttle, smoothly but deliberately. Carb heat to cold. You need every bit of power available.
2. Pitch — Establish a normal climb attitude. Smooth, positive pitch — don’t yank back. Apply right rudder to counteract left-turning tendencies.
3. Flaps — Retract incrementally. If you’re at full flaps, go one notch at a time, letting the airplane accelerate between each change. Never retract all flaps at once at low altitude. You will lose lift faster than you gain airspeed, creating stall risk near the ground.
4. Configuration — Once climbing and cleaned up, fly the pattern. Announce the go-around on the radio so other traffic is aware. Set up for a normal approach.

Does a Go-Around on a Checkride Mean You Failed?

No. The Airman Certification Standards (ACS) list go-arounds as a required skill at every certificate level. Examiners want to see that you can recognize when an approach isn’t working and take positive action.

Many examiners are more impressed by a confident go-around decision than by a student who salvages a sloppy approach into a passable landing. The go-around demonstrates judgment. The save demonstrates luck.

If you execute a go-around on your checkride, reset, fly the next approach, and nail the landing. Do not spend the rest of the ride assuming you failed.

Key Takeaways

• A go-around is a planned maneuver, not a failure. The best pilots in the world execute them regularly and brief them before every approach.
• Five criteria define a stabilized approach: airspeed, descent rate, configuration, flight path, and mental state. All five must be met by your decision gate.
• Set your stabilization gate at 500 feet AGL (or higher during training). If any criterion is unmet, go around — no negotiating.
• Brief the go-around before entering the pattern to defeat plan continuation bias. Make the decision before you need it.
• Execute in order: power, pitch, flaps (incrementally), configure. The whole sequence takes about 10 seconds.

For further study, see the FAA Airplane Flying Handbook and Advisory Circular AC 90-66B on stabilized approach guidance.