"Go Around"
An airplane cockpit is a busy place during a landing. There are lots of things going on, especially when you're landing at a busy airport. I was on this particular flight, if memory serves me correctly, coming home from fixing this particular airplane in Florida. Anyway, the flight was normal after barely escaping the leading edge of a really bad storm in Ft. Walton Beach. After a bit of taxiing around the airfield we found a window of weather we could leave in and off we went. The ride home was nice, and I got to ride up front with the flight crew. The landing approach was normal. Everything worked fine, until we were handed off to the SLC tower for landing clearance. We were close to the field, lined up just fine, but either the clearance was passed as the copilot changed the radio over or the tower controller missed passing it along. After two attempts to contact the tower to verify the clearance, and though the runway appeared clear, the pilot after a very brief discussion called "Go Around" just short of us touching down on the runway.
Rather than take a chance, they decided it was better to try it again and make sure the communication between our aircraft and the tower was clear. I learned a very important lesson about communication and making important decisions based on training and instruction. I was very impressed with the aircrew for the professional manner and quick decision making skills they used to make a good choice and as we flew back out to start another approach to the runway, both pilots talked about why they made their decision.
On the ground, the crew waiting to park the aircraft asked me if the pilots were just "showing off" because we were so close to landing and they made the "go around" look pretty easy. I explained to them what had transpired and they were impressed as well with the pilots making that decision and changing the aircraft from a landing to a flying configuration so quickly. They practice this frequently, so it looks pretty easy from the ground but it takes coordination, training and communication to make sure it happens safely and quickly.
I don't know why this story popped into my head. I was taking a nap because I still "hab a code." It's moved into my chest today and I'm a bit raspy. The thing I did today before the nap was to take a bit of my own advice and took a bible study class online before the nap. Maybe the message from the class I took was similar to the "Go Around" scenario. Things weren't what they needed to be. An important instruction was either missed as the radio frequencies were changed or it wasn't issued for whatever reason. So, we went around and tried it again. The second time, the clearance to land was passed clearly and acknowledged as happens hundreds of times a day. The thing was that this happened YEARS ago and for some reason I remembered it vividly today.
I wasn't on the right frequency. That's for sure. I missed some key instructions, but when I got on the right frequency I started hearing them. Since then, I've been listening intently, communicating, and taking care of business. I'm headed on the right course and as dumb as this sounds, I'm really happy and I don't know why. I just know things are good and going to get better. I guess that's faith at work and the only reason I can figure why this story came to me so vividly is that there is some parallel in my life right now and reflecting on this story will help me with that.
I chose to share it with you today because, quite frankly, something tells me it's important to share this story. I don't know why. If you got something out of it, please either comment or let me know privately.
Thanks for reading the blog and God Bless.
Coop
Rather than take a chance, they decided it was better to try it again and make sure the communication between our aircraft and the tower was clear. I learned a very important lesson about communication and making important decisions based on training and instruction. I was very impressed with the aircrew for the professional manner and quick decision making skills they used to make a good choice and as we flew back out to start another approach to the runway, both pilots talked about why they made their decision.
On the ground, the crew waiting to park the aircraft asked me if the pilots were just "showing off" because we were so close to landing and they made the "go around" look pretty easy. I explained to them what had transpired and they were impressed as well with the pilots making that decision and changing the aircraft from a landing to a flying configuration so quickly. They practice this frequently, so it looks pretty easy from the ground but it takes coordination, training and communication to make sure it happens safely and quickly.
I don't know why this story popped into my head. I was taking a nap because I still "hab a code." It's moved into my chest today and I'm a bit raspy. The thing I did today before the nap was to take a bit of my own advice and took a bible study class online before the nap. Maybe the message from the class I took was similar to the "Go Around" scenario. Things weren't what they needed to be. An important instruction was either missed as the radio frequencies were changed or it wasn't issued for whatever reason. So, we went around and tried it again. The second time, the clearance to land was passed clearly and acknowledged as happens hundreds of times a day. The thing was that this happened YEARS ago and for some reason I remembered it vividly today.
I wasn't on the right frequency. That's for sure. I missed some key instructions, but when I got on the right frequency I started hearing them. Since then, I've been listening intently, communicating, and taking care of business. I'm headed on the right course and as dumb as this sounds, I'm really happy and I don't know why. I just know things are good and going to get better. I guess that's faith at work and the only reason I can figure why this story came to me so vividly is that there is some parallel in my life right now and reflecting on this story will help me with that.
I chose to share it with you today because, quite frankly, something tells me it's important to share this story. I don't know why. If you got something out of it, please either comment or let me know privately.
Thanks for reading the blog and God Bless.
Coop
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