What Is a Go-Around? What This Month's LaGuardia Incident Actually Shows

Early one Wednesday afternoon this month, passengers on a regional jet approaching LaGuardia Airport felt the plane suddenly power up and climb away from the runway instead of landing. For anyone who has felt their stomach drop at that exact moment — the engines roaring, the nose lifting, the ground falling away again — it's a disorienting few seconds. It's also, as this flight shows, one of the most carefully designed safety procedures in aviation, not a sign that anything went wrong.

What happened at LaGuardia

On October 7, Endeavor Air flight 5415, operating as Delta Connection from Omaha, was on final approach to LaGuardia's Runway 22 when a NetJets-operated Embraer Phenom 300 began its takeoff roll from an intersecting runway, according to AeroCorner and AVweb. The Delta Connection crew broke off the approach and went around. Flight-tracking data cited by both outlets put the two aircraft about 1,000 feet apart at their closest point. The regional jet circled back and landed safely a short time later, and nobody on either aircraft was hurt.

The FAA said it is investigating, and air traffic control recordings reviewed by reporters show a disagreement between the business jet's pilot and the tower over whether the aircraft had been cleared for takeoff. The outcome of that investigation isn't public yet, and we're not going to guess at it here. What matters for anyone flying commercially is simpler: the system built to catch exactly this kind of situation did its job. The Delta crew saw a conflict developing and went around well before it became a problem.

What a go-around actually is

A go-around is, in the FAA's own words, "a safe, routine maneuver performed at the discretion of a pilot or at the request of an air traffic controller." It simply ends the approach, climbs the aircraft back to a safe altitude and configuration, and sets up for another attempt. The FAA is explicit that during a go-around, the pilot and the air traffic controller remain in full command of the situation — it isn't something that happens to a crew, it's a decision a crew makes.

Pilots train for go-arounds constantly, in the simulator and in recurrent training, specifically because the maneuver has to be instant and automatic. There's no deliberation involved in the moment. If an approach doesn't look exactly right, for any reason, the standard instruction is to go around first and sort out the reason afterward.

Why it happens more often than you'd think

Go-arounds aren't a rare malfunction. Across 30 of the busiest U.S. airports, roughly 0.39% of arrivals involved a go-around in 2024, or about one in every 250 flights, according to FAA data cited by One Mile at a Time. Rates vary by airport: Washington Reagan National ran over 0.8%, while Los Angeles International was just above 0.2%.

Most go-arounds have nothing dramatic behind them. A plane ahead hasn't cleared the runway yet. The approach is a touch too high or too fast. A gust of wind pushes the aircraft off the stable path crews are trained to hold before touchdown. Spacing from another aircraft, as at LaGuardia, is one of the most common reasons of all. In nearly every case, the crew simply flies a wider circuit and tries again a few minutes later.

What it feels like in your seat

If you've been on a flight that went around, you know the sequence: the engines surge, the nose pitches up, the aircraft banks into a turn you weren't expecting, and the ground that had been getting closer suddenly isn't. None of that is subtle, and for anyone already nervous about flying, it can feel like the moment things went wrong. It's actually closer to the opposite. The abrupt power and climb are the plane doing exactly what it's built, and the crew trained, to do the instant an approach stops looking ideal — err toward a few more minutes in the air rather than complete a landing that isn't quite right.

Putting it in perspective

The LaGuardia event is still being investigated, and the question of exactly who was supposed to be where will take time to answer. But the part that's already clear is the part that matters most to passengers: a safety layer worked. The Delta Connection crew saw a developing conflict and flew away from it, calmly, using a maneuver they practice regularly, and everyone landed normally a few minutes later.

For a lot of anxious flyers, it's exactly this kind of sudden, physical sensation — power, pitch, a turn you didn't see coming — that's harder to sit with than almost anything else in the air. Our Sensations Decoder guide walks through moments like this one: what you're likely to feel during a normal flight, why it happens, and why an anxious mind tends to make an ordinary sensation feel far bigger than it is.

Frequently asked questions

Is a go-around a sign that something went wrong?

Not usually. A go-around is a standard, pre-briefed maneuver that pilots are trained to use whenever an approach doesn't look exactly right, for reasons ranging from spacing with another aircraft to weather to a runway that isn't clear yet. The FAA describes it as a safe, routine maneuver.

What actually happened at LaGuardia?

A Delta Connection regional jet broke off its landing approach after a NetJets business jet began its takeoff roll from an intersecting runway. The two aircraft came within roughly 1,000 feet of each other before the Delta flight climbed away and circled back to land safely. The FAA is investigating what led to the business jet's departure.

How often do go-arounds happen?

More often than most passengers realize. FAA data on 30 major U.S. airports puts the rate at about 0.39% of arrivals, or roughly one in every 250 flights, in 2024, with some airports higher and some lower.

Why does a go-around feel so sudden?

Because it's meant to be immediate. The moment an approach stops looking right, crews are trained to apply power and climb without hesitation rather than debate whether to continue. The abruptness is the system working as intended, not a sign of an emergency.