My First Ever Go-Around and Aborted Landing Experience

On a recent flight to Norway, I had my first-ever go-around and aborted landing, which was certainly a thrilling experience.

Trip to Norway

I fly quite a lot each year, and although most flights pass by rather uneventfully, that wasn’t exactly the case on my recent trip to Arctic Norway.

Leaving aside the three SAS flight cancellations I had to endure during the trip (including two consecutive cancellations in two days), the most noteworthy incident was a go-around at Oslo Gardermoen Airport just seconds before landing.

It was my first go-around in around 700 lifetime flights, and it was certainly quite the experience – one I actually enjoyed as an aviation enthusiast, even though it might have been slightly scary for other passengers on board.

Go-around

For those who don’t know this yet, let me first explain what a go-around entails.

A go-around is the manoeuvre pilots perform when they have to abort a landing at the last moment.

This normally happens during the final approach, just moments before landing, though it can also occur when the aircraft has already touched down on the runway but still has enough speed to immediately take off again.

The term go-around simply refers to the pilots increasing speed after an aborted landing, climbing to a higher altitude, making another circuit around the airport, and then attempting to land again.

This is usually due to weather conditions such as windshear, strong wind gusts, or fog at the airport that prevents them from making a visual approach.

As safety is the most important factor for pilots to consider during a flight, they will always err on the side of caution and opt for a go-around if they aren’t sure they can safely land the plane.

They simply hope that conditions on the second, or even third, landing attempt will have improved enough for them to safely touch down at the airport.

A go-around is a perfectly safe and normal precautionary flight manoeuvre, although the sudden nature of it can certainly catch passengers off guard.

My go-around at Oslo Gardermoen Airport

On Sunday 5th July, I flew with SAS Scandinavian Airlines on flight SK1458 from Copenhagen to Oslo, which is normally a rather uneventful short-haul intra-European flight of around one hour.

Indeed, the flight – operated by an Airbus A320neo – was perfectly pleasant, with clear skies and excellent visibility in Danish and Norwegian airspace.

Shortly before landing, the pilot even informed us of the nice and sunny weather in Oslo.

However, as soon as we began our approach to Oslo Gardermoen Airport, the weather suddenly changed.

Dark storm clouds were suddenly visible in the distance above the airport.

As we lined up for landing on the easternmost runway and started our final approach, raindrops appeared on my window.

Within seconds, we also encountered some turbulence as our plane flew through strong wind gusts.

I thought for one brief moment that this sudden change in weather might cause us perform a go-around, but as the wind gusts appeared to subside, the thought quickly escaped my mind.

Yet moments before landing, we were hit by more wind gusts, swinging the plane back and forth in the air.

It was then that the engines roared back to full power as we suddenly began climbing again, and it immediately became clear to me that I was experiencing my first-ever aborted landing and go-around.

Although I knew that it was a perfectly safe manoeuvre and nothing to worry about, the sudden sensation of the climb and mid-air acceleration of the go-around certainly felt like a rollercoaster ride, with the same adrenaline rush and a strange feeling in your stomach.

Safe landing

Once we had climbed back to altitude, the captain made an announcement informing us that we had been unable to land due to strong wind gusts currently affecting Oslo Gardermoen Airport.

However, due to the extremely local nature of this summer storm, we would simply circle around the airport and attempt a second landing attempt, as the freak weather event was expected to pass quickly.

As we circled east around the airport, the weather again appeared to be pleasant and sunny, although I could see from my seat on the starboard side of the plane that there was indeed a huge, dark storm cloud hanging over Oslo Airport.

It was certainly quite the contrast!

After making another 180-degree turn, we lined up for our second landing attempt at Oslo Airport, this time on the westernmost runway.

As we made our final descent, we again entered some dark storm clouds, but this time the turbulence was only relatively minor, and we touched down safely with a smooth landing.

While we were taxiing towards the terminal, it seemed that the storm had already completely passed the airport, as blue skies had returned over Oslo Airport.

Arrival

Although the aborted landing and unexpected go-around had caused a 35-minute delay upon arrival, I didn’t really mind this at all.

I easily made it onto my connecting flight, and I assume that all other passengers with onward connections did as well.

As an av-geek, I was actually excited to have experienced my first go-around, and I was still full of adrenaline as I walked to the domestic terminal for my onward flight to Tromsø.

However, it would not be the last go-around of my Norway trip.

On my way back, I experienced the less pleasant side of such a go-around while waiting at Kirkenes Airport for my flight back to Oslo.

The aircraft operating the inbound flight from Oslo was unable to land at Kirkenes due to strong winds, had to perform a go-around, and eventually diverted to Tromsø, leaving me stranded in Arctic Norway.

But that is a story for another time!

Conclusion

After around 700 lifetime flights, I recently experienced my first-ever go-around, as the pilots of my SAS flight from Copenhagen had to abort the landing at Oslo Airport at the very last moment due to strong wind gusts.

It’s certainly quite the experience to witness a go-around, as the aircraft suddenly accelerating and climbing at a moment when you don’t expect it gives a similar thrill to a rollercoaster ride.

Go-arounds are performed when pilots cannot commit to a safe landing due to local weather conditions such as strong winds or fog, and are perfectly normal, controlled flight manoeuvres.

After climbing back to a normal altitude following a go-around, pilots will either divert to another airport where they can safely land or attempt to land again.

In my case, the pilots of my SAS Scandinavian Airlines flight easily managed to land the plane on the second attempt, as the freak summer storm had already passed over Oslo Airport.