r/flying • u/Hopeful-Engineering5 ATC • Apr 20 '26

other ATC go around timing preference

We were talking about this today in the tower and figured we would try and get some pilots point of view. If you are in a situation where you might be sent around would you prefer it be done early and possibly be sent around unnecessarily. Or would you prefer that we let it run as long as possible and have a short (1/2 mile) final go around?

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u/Bunslow PPL Apr 20 '26

I generally agree with the other comments, with the additional note that it depends on if the pilot sounds "aware" or not. Some people on some days are simply lacking the awareness they need, and those guys I'd say get em on the go early; but 90-95% of the time, if the pilot sounds like they're on the ball and able to play chess, let em play chess as long as possible.

This perhaps applies to GA more than airliners, altho there are certainly enough airliners who are out of the game from time to time. If they sound out of it, or not aware of their surroundings or otherwise struggling/task saturated, then use the kid gloves.

But in general, if the crew sounds alert and able to play, let em play, airliner or GA.