The Go-Around: Why Quitting the Landing Is the Pro Move

💭 A go-around is a pilot's decision not to land, seconds from the runway. Nose up, full thrust, climb, reset, fly it again.

Aviation made walking away routine

✈️ Mechanically, it's simple. Psychologically, it's one of the hardest calls in the cockpit. The rule is clean: if the approach isn't stabilized (a vehicle on the runway, a parameter off, anything that won't fix itself), you don't land. — 🔗 read more

The Stabilized Approach: Set the Criteria, Not the Outcome

Decide what ‘on track’ looks like before the pressure hits — or abandon the approach. The pilot’s rule for pre-committing to your standards.

Olivier RouchardOlivier Rouchard

🎯 But the moment fights you. You've flown this approach for thirty minutes, you're tired, the cabin is ready, and everything pulls you toward the ground. So aviation trains the go-around harder than almost any other manoeuvre. Calling it out loud is an order, not an invitation — whoever's flying, Captain or First Officer. — 🔗 read more

Your life has go-arounds too

✅ The conversation you should restart. The purchase you should abandon at the till. The project you should cancel. The job offer you should decline, even after the negotiation felt finished. The sunk cost is real. It's also irrelevant.

🚫 And going around is not failure. It's the climb-out that buys you another approach. You never have to land badly, as long as you have somewhere else to go. — 🔗 read more

Always Have an Alternate: The Plan B Pilots Never Fly Without

No pilot takes off without a backup airport — it’s the law. A named Plan B turns a crisis into a decision. How to carry an alternate through your own life.

Olivier RouchardOlivier Rouchard

☝🏼 We practise the go-around because forcing a bad landing is fatal. Your stakes feel smaller, so you push through and call it commitment. Borrow the rule: throttles up, climb away, and fly the approach again, clean.