The economics of a go-around

OK, but what’s the cost of NOT going around? What is the damage to your and your company’s reputation when you go sliding off the end into the EMAS with the buckets fully deployed? When was the last time you heard about a plane on social media doing a go-around? When was the last time you had to text one of your friends and mention “Joe Pilot had to do a go-around; where can we send flowers?”

For me, it’s about $0.75 billion worth of liability if I hurt all of the those people because I let the economics of a go-around influence my decision. My company’s safety culture drills go-arounds so strongly into us that they don’t even want any paperwork if we go around. As silly as it may be, they know that pilots hate paperwork and don’t want even that factoring into your decision.

Does your company have a go-around policy? Have you reviewed it? Does the boss support it?

Don’t let the economics of a go-around affect your primary job—the safe transport of your passengers or cargo.