All was normal on approach to Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport.  The gear was down, and the flaps were churning.  The tiny screen on the seat-back in front of me confirmed our imminent arrival.  “Time To Destination: 1 Minute.”

But just as I tugged on my seat belt one last time, the Continental Airlines Boeing 757 suddenly banked left, pitched up and the engines came alive.  We were going around.

This wasn’t the first time I had experienced a missed approach in an airliner.  But I immediately knew this one was different.

Rather than roaring back to a normal missed approach altitude, we quickly leveled off, the gear remained down, and the partial flaps remained out.  The screen in front of me settled on ”Altitude: 2000 feet.”

As we worked through a now gentle turn to the left, three loud dings chimed through the cabin.  I peeked down the aisle and saw the lead flight attendant grab the phone, quickly hang it up, then jump up.  Her colleagues in the back briskly walked forward and huddled at the bulkhead.

The plane then leveled its wings, as the intercom came alive.

“Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking.  As you can tell, we’ve aborted our landing and gone around.  Just before touchdown, we got a warning light in the cockpit saying we had an unsafe condition with our flaps.  We have the aircraft under control and are returning to the airport.  However, we will not be lowering the flaps anymore, and therefore we will need to land a bit faster than usual.  This may cause the brakes to get hot, so I’ve declared an emergency and asked the fire crews to meet us on the runway as a precaution.  The flight attendants will now be instructing you on a brace position, and how to evacuate if it comes to that.”

Almost instantly, the cabin crew snapped into its well-rehearsed and perfectly-choreographed preparation for an emergency landing.  They spread out and demonstrated the brace position.  Hands up on the seat in front of you.  Head down.  Remove your coats and high heels.

Then a final check of the cabin for any loose items.  A few passengers stopped the flight attendants along the way, asking the worst-case scenario question: “are we going to crash?”

The cabin crew was calm.  Answering questions with a generous use of the words “precaution,” “experience,” and “safety,” before returning to their jump seats.

Those near me texted loved ones.  Some silently prayed.  But most just sat there, anxiously glancing side to side, realizing their fate was in the hands of the two men up front.

“30 seconds,” the captain announced.

More screams.  A few squeals.  Then a chant from the flight attendants: “arms up, head down.  Arms up, head down.”  Over, and over again.

I grabbed my phone and began rolling…

There was no panic.  Just hushed anxiety.  And as you heard from one of the passengers, an “anti-climatic landing,” but enough of a relief to yield a hearty round of applause.

And then, after sitting on the taxiway for 30 minutes to cool the brakes, the ordeal was over as soon as it began.  But the lasting impression for me, as a pilot, will linger much longer.

While a  757 is much different than my rented 172, this served as a textbook example of how to handle an emergency for anyone who flies…

• If anything is unusual during your final approach, don’t hesitate.  Go around.  Our captain could have landed the first time, but why risk it.
• Fly the plane.  Several minutes went by before the flight deck even talked with the flight attendants or passengers.  They waited until the wings were level and the aircraft was stabilized.
• Don’t hesitate to declare an emergency.  While it’s likely Continental’s policy is to declare an emergency during this situation, don’t underestimate your problem, and never worry about FAA paperwork.  Use all of your resources in the moment.
• Keep yourself and your passengers calm.  Be honest.  Explain what’s happening.  Go over the evacuation procedures again.  The flight attendants never looked concerned.  Do the same from the left seat.

And in the end, this was one of the best landings I had ever experienced in a 757.  Maybe they should take a tip from us private pilots, and come in with partial flaps more often.

Chris Archer Blogs by Archer continental airlines, declare an emergency, emergency landing, FAA, flaps, houston intercontinental airport