Originally Posted by lordkeir: we were flying very low for about 60 seconds.
As others have said, your pilot made the correct choice to go around. Proof: you are alive to post here. The pilot in India landed half way down the runway without enough room to stop. Instead of a go around, he landed and ran off the runway with tragic results.
Originally Posted by
MikeMpls
It suggests that the plane did not have sufficient velocity or power to fly at that point, although 60 seconds probably is an exaggeration. 10 seconds can seem like an eternity if you're really scared.
No regular runway is 60 seconds long at jet flying speeds. There are procedures for a go around that involve several steps, depending on the plane, more than just firewalling the throttle. Gear, flap settings, etc. are quickly checked and if not in best go around configuration a few switches need to be flipped as the go around procedures are done. This is why simulator practice is so important. The pilots do not have 30 seconds to look up the first five steps of the go around procedure in the handbook, it has to be in their heads and done automatically. As long as the pilot knows he has sufficient speed and will have the altitude to clear the trees ahead, it is safer to stay low for a few seconds and check the required go around settings. It shows he did things right.
Also if the plane is just above the runway, it is in ground effect and it helps to keep flying there as it accelerates and then climbs. Trying to climb too soon leads to stalls. ^ to your pilot, it sounds like he did the right things.