Your plane pulled up and climbed away during landing because the pilots performed a go-around — a normal, safe, fully trained manoeuvre, not an emergency. They do it when the approach is not stable, the runway is not clear, traffic spacing or wind needs it, or Air Traffic Control instructs them. The aircraft simply climbs, circles back, and tries the landing again, usually a few minutes later.
Updated June 2026 · HappyFares
You were seconds from the runway. The wheels almost touched. Then the engines roared, the nose lifted, and the plane shot back up into the sky. Your stomach dropped. Everyone went quiet.
Take a breath. What you just experienced is called a go-around, and it is one of the most reassuring things a pilot can do. Far from a sign of danger, it is a manoeuvre crews practise again and again in training. Here is exactly why it happens, what you felt, and why “going around” is the safe choice.
What is a go-around, and is it an emergency?
A go-around is when pilots stop a landing, climb away, and set up to try again. It is not an emergency by default. Aviation references put it plainly: “a go-around is not an emergency,” and it is widely described as one of the safest manoeuvres in commercial flying. After a textbook go-around, nothing has actually gone wrong — the crew simply chose not to complete that particular landing.
Think of it like a driver who decides not to squeeze through a closing traffic light and waits for the next one instead. Cautious, deliberate, completely routine. Go-arounds are relatively rare on any given flight, but when they happen, they are entirely normal.
Pilots train for this manoeuvre over and over in the simulator. The whole sequence — push the power up, climb, clean up the aircraft, circle back — is muscle memory for a commercial crew. So while it can feel dramatic from seat 24C, in the cockpit it is a calm, by-the-book procedure.
Why did the pilot pull up and go around again?
Pilots go around for a short list of routine, safety-first reasons. The most common is an unstable approach — the aircraft is too high, too fast, or not lined up properly with the runway. Rather than wrestle a poor approach down onto the tarmac, the trained and expected response is to climb away and reset.
The other usual triggers are easy to picture:
- The runway is not clear. Another aircraft still on it, a vehicle, an animal, or debris — anything on the runway means the landing has to wait.
- Traffic spacing. The aircraft ahead is too slow to vacate, so Air Traffic Control creates a safe gap.
- Wind or wind-shear. A sudden shift in wind speed or direction near the ground can make a stable touchdown unsafe.
- Low visibility. Fog or heavy rain can hide the runway until it is too late to land safely.
- An ATC instruction. Controllers manage the whole airspace and can simply tell a crew to go around.
- A mechanical issue or a bounced touchdown. Occasionally a system warning or an imperfect, bouncing landing makes a fresh approach the cleaner choice.
Notice the theme: every one of these is the system working as designed. None of them means the pilot made a mistake.
Does the plane really “circle” again?
“Circle for another approach” is a fair way to describe it in plain English, but the exact path varies. The crew flies a published missed-approach procedure, a circuit, or a holding pattern, and ATC re-sequences them back into the landing queue. You might be vectored several miles downwind, sent to hold for a while, or slotted back in fairly quickly — it is not always a single neat loop. The principle is the same: climb away, get organised, line up again.
What did I feel during a go-around?
That powerful surge you felt is the engines spooling up. The crew applies full or pre-set TOGA — Take-Off/Go-Around — thrust, which is exactly the kind of power used on take-off. The nose pitches up, the aircraft climbs away strongly, and the cabin gets loud for a few moments.
Here is the sequence the crew runs, almost identical to a normal take-off:
- Push the thrust up to the go-around setting.
- Pitch the nose up and start climbing.
- Raise the landing gear once safely climbing.
- Retract the flaps in stages.
- Follow the published missed-approach path or ATC vectors.
So the “whoa” feeling in your stomach is just acceleration and a climb — the same forces you felt on departure, only now you were not expecting them. Within a minute or two the aircraft settles, the engines quieten to a cruise hum, and the crew begins setting up the next approach. If anything, the strong climb is proof the aircraft has power and energy to spare.
Why is going around the safe choice, not a mistake?
Going around is the deliberately safe option, full stop. The standard pilot principle is “when in doubt, go around.” If an approach is not stable, the trained and expected response is to climb away and try again rather than force the landing. This is a universal pilot procedure rooted in ICAO standards, and safety bodies — including the FAA, whose engineering and procedures are cited worldwide — treat a go-around as mandatory when stabilised-approach criteria are not met.
In other words, a good pilot going around is not improvising or panicking. They are doing precisely what the rulebook, their training, and basic good judgement all tell them to do. The unsafe move would be to stubbornly push a bad approach down onto the runway.
So if you ever feel a flicker of worry when the engines surge, try to flip it: that climb is the system protecting you. A crew that goes around when something is not quite right is a crew doing its job exactly as intended.
Can wind-shear or runway debris force an immediate go-around?
Yes — and each triggers a fast, decisive response. For wind-shear, modern airliner systems can issue an aural “GO AROUND, WINDSHEAR AHEAD” command, prompting the crew to climb away from the hazard at once. For a runway obstruction, any object sitting on the runway effectively forces a go-around: you simply cannot land where something else already is. Both cases show the manoeuvre doing its core job — getting the aircraft safely back up and away from a problem on short notice.
Why are go-arounds common in Indian winters and the monsoon?
In India, weather is a leading real-world cause of go-arounds. In winter, fog and sudden low visibility — especially at Delhi (DEL) and other North-India airports — regularly cause go-arounds, holding, and diversions. The monsoon at Mumbai (BOM) is the seasonal equivalent, with heavy rain and gusty winds doing much the same. If you fly through Delhi in December or Mumbai in July, a go-around is a real possibility — and a normal one.
When dense fog rolls into Delhi, the airport shifts to special low-visibility CAT III instrument-landing operations. These systems let suitably equipped aircraft and crews keep landing in conditions that would otherwise stop flights altogether. They keep traffic moving, but they still bring delays and the occasional missed approach or diversion — something seen as recently as February 2026. The exact landing minimums depend on the airport, the instrument-landing system, the aircraft, and the crew’s certification, so there is no single fixed rule for passengers to memorise.
The practical takeaway: if you are flying in peak fog or peak monsoon season, build in buffer time and keep an eye on your flight status. A go-around, a hold, or even a diversion is the aviation system choosing safety over schedule. For Mumbai’s rainy season specifically, our Mumbai monsoon BOM flight delays guide covers how to plan around June–September disruption.
What is a real Indian example of a go-around that ended safely?
A clear, India-relevant case happened on 10 August 2025 involving Air India flight AI2455 (Thiruvananthapuram–Delhi, an Airbus A320neo). During the sequence, the flight ended up holding near Chennai before landing there. While holding, Chennai ATC asked the crew to go around because another aircraft reported suspected debris (FOD) on the runway. The crew flew a standard go-around — and then landed safely.
It is a textbook illustration of two of our reasons combining at once: the runway was not clear, and there was a direct ATC instruction. ATC asked them to go around for debris; they did, then landed safely. That is the whole point of the manoeuvre — a controller spots a hazard, the crew climbs away, the hazard is dealt with, and the aircraft lands once it is safe. No drama required, and exactly the outcome the procedure is built to produce.
Does a go-around mean the plane is dumping fuel?
No — a go-around does not involve dumping fuel. These are two completely separate topics. Most narrow-body jets that dominate Indian domestic flying — the A320/A321neo and the Boeing 737 — cannot jettison fuel at all. Only some large wide-body aircraft have that capability. So if you are on a typical domestic flight within India and the plane goes around, there is simply no fuel-dumping happening; the aircraft just climbs, circles, and re-approaches.
It is worth separating these clearly because the two ideas often get muddled. A go-around is a short manoeuvre to reset a landing. Fuel jettison is a rare, deliberate procedure on specific wide-body aircraft. On the everyday A320 or 737 routes most of us fly across India, a go-around is purely about flying the approach again — nothing more.
Who governs and investigates a go-around in India?
The go-around manoeuvre itself is a universal ICAO and pilot standard, and it is performed identically in India and everywhere else in the world. The engineering and procedures are global, which is why references to bodies like the FAA or aircraft makers such as Airbus simply show that the standard is universal — not that those agencies regulate Indian flights.
For who actually governs and investigates flying in India, the right names are Indian. The DGCA is the civil-aviation regulator and safety-oversight body. AAI or the relevant private airport operator — for example Adani-run airports, DIAL at Delhi, or BIAL at Bengaluru — runs airport operations. And Indian ATC issues the go-around instruction itself. So while the manoeuvre is global, the authorities behind your specific Indian flight are the DGCA, the airport operator, and Indian air traffic controllers.
How much time does a go-around add?
Honestly, it varies — so be wary of anyone quoting an exact figure. A go-around usually adds around 10–20 minutes: the time to climb away, fly a circuit or holding pattern, and be sequenced back in. But it can be just a few minutes at a quiet airport, or longer if traffic is heavy or the aircraft has to hold or even divert. There is no single fixed number, and the strongest sources simply say the flight lands “a few minutes later.”
If a go-around does snowball into a longer delay or a diversion, your usual passenger protections and rebooking options still apply. To understand how delays and schedule changes work for Indian flyers, see whether a delayed flight can leave early or be “undelayed” and the broader rules around flight delay compensation in India. The go-around itself, though, is over in minutes far more often than not.
Common Questions
Is a go-around dangerous?
No. A go-around is a normal, safe, trained manoeuvre and is not an emergency by default. Aviation references state plainly that “a go-around is not an emergency,” and it is widely described as one of the safest manoeuvres in commercial flying. After a textbook go-around, nothing has actually gone wrong — the crew simply chose not to complete that landing.
Did the pilot make a mistake by going around?
No — quite the opposite. Going around is the deliberately safe choice. The standard pilot principle is “when in doubt, go around”: if an approach is not stable, the trained and expected response is to climb away and try again rather than force the landing. Safety bodies treat a go-around as mandatory when stabilised-approach criteria are not met, so it reflects good judgement, not error.
Why did I feel a strong push and climb?
Because the crew applied full or pre-set TOGA (Take-Off/Go-Around) thrust, pitched the nose up, and climbed away — the same kind of power and climb you feel on take-off. They then raise the gear, retract the flaps, and follow the published missed-approach procedure or ATC vectors to line up for another approach. The strong climb is the aircraft performing exactly as designed.
Why do go-arounds happen so often at Delhi in winter?
Fog and sudden low visibility, especially at Delhi (DEL) and other North-India airports, are a common winter cause of go-arounds, holding, and diversions; the Mumbai (BOM) monsoon is the seasonal equivalent. In dense fog Delhi shifts to special low-visibility CAT III instrument-landing operations, which keep flights moving but still bring delays and the occasional missed approach or diversion.
Does a go-around mean the plane is dumping fuel?
No. A go-around does not involve dumping fuel, and the two are separate topics. Most narrow-body jets that dominate Indian domestic flying — the A320/A321neo and Boeing 737 — cannot jettison fuel at all; only some large wide-bodies can. So on a typical Indian domestic flight, a go-around simply means the aircraft climbs, circles, and tries the landing again.
I get anxious during a go-around — how do I stay calm?
Remind yourself that the manoeuvre is routine, safe, and trained-for, and that the strong climb means the aircraft has plenty of power. Slow, steady breathing helps. Our fear of flying tips and our explainer on why turbulence happens and whether flying is safe can help. For any health concern, consult your doctor or the airline’s medical desk before you fly.
Next time the engines surge and the plane climbs away, you will know exactly what is happening: a safe, professional go-around. When you are ready to book your next trip with a crew you can trust, find your fare in seconds.
Disclaimer: Aviation procedures, airport operations, and weather-related rules are indicative and can change. Go-around handling, low-visibility operations, and delay or rebooking outcomes vary by airline, airport, and conditions. Confirm current details with your airline, the DGCA, or the relevant airport operator before relying on them. This article is general information, not safety or medical advice.
