AA1077 @ SFO, Frustration at Double Go Around

[derekjackson]

The good folks at airliners.net found this first though I edited it for brevity. An American Airlines crew becomes very frustrated at having to do two go arounds at SFO - the airliners.net crew believes the tower could have been doing a better job that day controlling the traffic.

[BigSky]

maybe I missed the second go around but it only sounded like 1 go around.

The crew definitely sounded frustrated with tower.

[derekjackson]

Oh right, I forgot to splice on the first go around but it was just "routine" with no frustration. The clip I posted starts at the second go around.

[ect76]

It sounds like this is the clip of the second go-around. There may have been one before this we don't have a clip of.

[englishpilot]

Reminds me of when that BA 747 had to do two go arounds and then had to go to Oakland to re-fuel.

At least the controller didn't get 'arsey' and apologised.

[StuSEL]

I'll bet the supervisor in the tower got a call from flight ops shortly thereafter. I can understand one go around every once in a while, but two in a row is a bit of a nightmare in terms of fuel expenditures, missed connections, late crewmembers, etc.

[SirIsaac726]

Can't really blame them for the frustration.  By the sounds of it, the cause was traffic crossing the runway.  For that to cause a second go-around, I'd be pretty annoyed to. 

Probably could have handled it better on the radar so big kudos to the controller for not getting into an argument, letting them vent and be done with it, and then apologizing for the situation.

[tyketto]

Sounds like what happened to my flight into LAX some 10 years ago, where we had to go around twice because of traffic ahead of us missing their turnoff on the highspeed at that time and had to go down to the 90 degree turn, causing us to go around the first time. And since we were landing the south complex, this meant going around the Palos Verdes Peninsula then back up via Seal Beach.

We turn final, get landing clearance, and have to go around again, because the traffic head of us exited on a closed taxiway, corrected, and went down to the next one, while still on the runway.

Those two cost the pilot and co-pilot a fat bonus because we were 25 minutes ahead of arrival. The go arounds and resequencing put them 10 minutes behind schedule. So I can understand these guys frustration.

BL.

[rickabone]

Just FYI, there was a different controller working for the first go-around.  The second controller was unaware that AAL1077 had already gone around once until after he sent him around the second time.

[GREGORIVS]

Should be written on the strip.

[sykocus]

Should be written on the strip.

I'd be surprised if norcal is using strips.

[rickabone]

Should be written on the strip.

SFO does not use strips for arrivals, only departures.  Strips are written down on a pad, and that would have denoted the Missed Approach, but the pad is changed every hour, and if it happened the previous hour, there would be no indication of it.  Also, the pad is only a secondary tool used mainly to count arrivals and as a backup should the radar fail.  Without a failure of the radar or combined positions, the Tower controller rarely looks at the pad, especially when it's even moderately busy.

[ogogog]

You know what i call an American flight being sent around twice...................................KARMA!

[GREGORIVS]

Thanks for the update about the strip or stripless.
Somestimes a piece of paper can be good.
In France we will start testing the stripless tool in Area Control Centers in a few months.

[Willy1]

From tower experience, you make sure they are not sent around twice! If you are relieved before the second approach, you make the first go-around part of your position relief briefing!!!