How to improve ‘go-around’ safety

A Go-around Safety Forum took place on 18 June 2013, initiated by the Flight Safety Foundation, the European Regions Airline Association and EUROCONTROL. It highlighted that better awareness and training, as well as refined policies and effective procedures, are the key to real improvements.

The Forum was launched to support the Flight Safety Foundation go-around safety initiative and to help promote the early implementation actions in the European Action Plan for the Prevention of Runway Excursions (EAPPRE), issued in January 2013.

Safety Improvement Strategies

The Forum discussed in-depth the issues related to go-around decision making, go-around execution, go-around training and the ATM aspects of safe go-arounds. The following eight safety improvement strategies were identified and a series of conclusions formulated:

1. Enhance the dynamic situational awareness of crews.
2. Refine the go-around policy (stable approach parameters and stable approach height).
3. Minimise the subjectivity of go-around decision making.
4. Ensure that go-around training and awareness appropriately reflect different risk execution scenarios.
5. Review go-around policy, procedures and documentation to maximise their effectiveness, clarity and understanding.
6. Ensure that low relevant experience of one or both crew does not prejudice the effectiveness of cross monitoring during approach, landing and go-around.
7. Communicate the go-around issue to industry leaders.
8. Communicate the go-around issue to operational stakeholders.

The principal conclusions included the following:

• Go-around is a normal phase of flight and pilots should be encouraged to go-around when conditions warrant. However, promoting go-around as a normal flight phase does not mean that there are no safety issues associated with it.
• The majority of accidents over the last 10 years have occurred during the approach, landing and go-around flight phases. In 2011 68% (63) of accidents in commercial aviation occurred during these phases of flight. The lack of a go-around decision is the leading risk factor in approach and landing accidents and is the primary cause of runway excursions during landing. Even so, less than 5% of unstabilised approaches lead to a go-around.
• No other single decision could have as great an impact on the overall aviation industry accident rate.
• One in ten go-around reports record a potentially hazardous go-around outcome, including exceeded aircraft performance limits or fuel endurance.
• The height at which a go-around is initiated during an approach presents different challenges and risks. Procedures and training should explicitly address this.