Warning: I'm going to again do what I so often do-- refer to a recent AVweb article.

The article, "Don't Mess Up the Miss," covers some of the dos and don'ts of performing a missed approach-- the act of transitioning from the approach/landing phase of flight to a climb configuration-- also called a go-around, a wave-off, or an "oh crap," depending on the circumstances.

Lots of things happen in a relatively short amount of time during the execution of a missed approach. In general:
- Throttle goes from near-idle to full
- Flaps retract (or go to a reduced/takeoff configuration)
- Gears retract
- Rate of descent turns to rate of climb
- Airspeed increases
- The nose comes up
- Elevator trim gets adjusted (and in some cases, rudder trim)
- A bunch of other airplanes and air traffic controllers go on high-alert
- Passengers get scared
- The pilot has to follow the published Missed Approach procedure (climb to X, turn to Y, fly to Z)
- The pilot has to communicate with ATC
- The pilot has to receive further instruction
... Oh, and by the way, a mistake while doing all this could easily stall the aircraft making a miss turn into a hit (and not in a Billy Joel, We Didn't Start the Fire way, though fire may indeed be a resulting factor).

Why do I bring this up?
Well, the sad irony is that I read this article about missed approach considerations. Today, atop that very same AVweb website, is a news headline: "Report: FlyDubai Jet Crashed Nose-Down During Go-Around." This is an accident that occurred last month. The investigation and ensuing reports again highlight an increased susceptibility to accidents during a go-around, and it recommends better training on the matter. This isn't the first time that go-around procedures and training have been examined, and it won't be the last.

So what?
So, I'm always looking for reasons to fly my sim. I have to admit that I haven't practiced a go-around in... ever. Maybe now is the time to start.

Anyone up for some IFR approaches to minimums in IMC? First person to touch the ground loses.