The airplane is seconds from the runway. Then the engines surge, the nose lifts, and instead of touching down you are climbing back into the sky. For the 135 people aboard Delta Flight 2351 into Boston Logan on June 20, that sudden climb was not a malfunction or a near disaster. It was the safety system doing exactly what it is designed to do.
That morning the Delta Airbus A319, arriving from Dallas Fort Worth, was cleared to land on Runway 33L. Moments later a controller cleared an American Airlines Boeing 737 to depart from an intersecting runway. The Delta crew saw the other jet rolling into their path, broke off the landing, and climbed away. One aviation expert later told NBC Boston the two aircraft came within roughly 300 feet of each other. The FAA opened a formal investigation. No one was hurt, and both flights landed safely a short time later.
The maneuver the Delta pilots flew has a name: a go-around. It looks dramatic from seat 24C, and after a headline like this one it can feel alarming. The truth is closer to the opposite. A go-around is one of the most practiced, most routine procedures in commercial flying, and on the great majority of days it has nothing to do with another airplane. Here is what it is, why it happens, and why pilots and safety experts treat it as good news rather than bad.
- What it is: A go-around is a planned climb away from a landing approach, flown when something is not right for a safe touchdown.
- How routine: Airline pilots train for go-arounds repeatedly and can start one at almost any point in the approach.
- Common triggers: An unstable approach, a runway that is not yet clear, wind or spacing problems, or a direct instruction from air traffic control.
- What you feel: The engines spool up, the nose pitches up, and the aircraft climbs and circles to set up another approach.
- Is it dangerous: No. A go-around removes risk from a situation rather than adding it, which is why crews are trained to fly one without hesitation.
What happened at Boston Logan
According to the FAA and multiple accounts of the incident, Delta Flight 2351 was on final approach to Runway 33L at about 11:34 a.m. local time on June 20, 2026. The tower controller cleared the A319 to land, then cleared American Airlines Flight 3161, a Boeing 737, to depart from Runway 27, which crosses the path the Delta jet was flying. There was not enough separation between the two movements. The Delta crew recognized the conflict, called it out, and executed a go-around, climbing away before the paths could meet.
An aviation expert who reviewed the flight tracks estimated the jets were about 300 feet apart, closer to one another than the length of a football field. The 135 people aboard the Delta aircraft were unharmed, both flights continued normally, and the FAA opened a high priority review of how the conflicting clearances were issued. It is the second serious runway safety event at a major United States airport in 2026, following the fatal collision at LaGuardia in March and a separate near collision at Newark. Those events are rare against the millions of flights that operate safely each year, but they are the reason runway coordination is under a microscope right now.
What a go-around actually is
The FAA defines a go-around simply: the flight crew discontinues the landing approach, adds power, climbs back to a safe altitude, and repositions to try the approach again. As the agency explains in its plain language Go-Arounds Explained guidance, the maneuver can be started by the pilots themselves or requested by a controller, and it is treated as a normal, expected part of flying rather than an emergency. Crews brief the possibility of a go-around on nearly every approach, and the steps are committed to memory.
In other words, a go-around is not a pilot improvising a way out of trouble. It is a procedure with a fixed sequence that every airline pilot has flown many times in training and in the simulator. The decision to use it is the system working as intended.
Why pilots and controllers order them
Most go-arounds have nothing to do with a second aircraft. The most common reasons are mundane: the approach becomes unstable because the plane is a little too high, too fast, or not lined up with the runway; the runway ahead is not yet clear because a previous arrival has not finished taxiing off; or wind gusts and shifting conditions make the touchdown unsafe. Controllers also order go-arounds to keep traffic properly spaced when arrivals are bunching up.
The Boston Logan event sits in a less common category, a runway conflict, but the response was the same one crews train for in every case. When the picture is not right, the answer is to climb, reset, and come back around. Forcing a landing that does not feel right is the genuinely risky choice, and it is the one the procedure exists to prevent.
What you feel in the cabin
From a passenger seat, a go-around is mostly noise and motion. The engines spool up to a loud, sustained power setting. The nose pitches up and you feel pressed gently into your seat as the aircraft climbs. There may be a banking turn as the plane swings around to rejoin the approach pattern, and the landing gear may stay down or retract and then extend again. Repositioning for a fresh approach usually adds several minutes, and in a small number of cases the flight diverts to another airport if a second attempt is not workable.
Pilots fly first and talk second, so an announcement often comes a minute or two after the climb begins rather than during it. That silence is not a bad sign. It means the crew is doing the flying before picking up the microphone.
- Listen for the crew: An explanation usually follows once the pilots are settled in the climb. A go-around handled calmly is a good sign, not a worrying one.
- Expect a short delay: Setting up a second approach typically adds a few minutes, and on rare occasions leads to a diversion.
- Protect tight connections: If the delay threatens a close connection, start checking rebooking options early and know your refund and compensation rights before you reach the gate.
- Stay calm: A go-around is the crew choosing safety. By itself it is not an emergency, and the odds it ends in anything other than a normal landing are very high.
Is a go-around dangerous? No, and here is why
The instinct to read a go-around as a brush with disaster is understandable, especially when it follows a near miss. But the maneuver is the opposite of dangerous. It pulls the airplane out of a situation that was not working and gives the crew a clean reset with altitude, time, and options. The real hazard in aviation is pressing on with an approach that should have been abandoned, which is exactly what a go-around prevents.
At Boston Logan, the alarming part was not the go-around. It was the runway clearance that put two jets on intersecting paths in the first place, which is why the FAA is investigating the controller instructions rather than the pilots. The maneuver itself did its job perfectly. The Delta crew saw a problem, climbed away from it, and brought everyone around for a safe landing. The next time the engines surge and the runway drops away beneath you, that is the sequence to picture. The pilots are not in trouble. They are giving themselves room to do the most important part of the flight again, properly.
How often do go-arounds really happen?
Routinely. An individual airline pilot may fly several in a year, and across a large airline network they happen every day. The overwhelming majority are unremarkable and have nothing to do with another aircraft.
Did the Delta pilots do something wrong at Boston Logan?
No. The crew spotted the conflict and went around, which is the correct response. The FAA review is focused on how the tower issued landing and departure clearances for intersecting runways, not on the pilots.
Will a go-around make me miss my connection?
It can add time, and on rare occasions a flight diverts. If you have a tight connection, build in a buffer when you book and check rebooking options as soon as you know there is a delay.
Is a go-around the same as an aborted takeoff?
No. A go-around happens during a landing approach, when the aircraft climbs away instead of touching down. A rejected takeoff happens on the ground during the takeoff roll, when the crew stops the aircraft before it leaves the runway.
For broader planning, compare this update with Deep Arrival’s airline planning guides.
