In my life, I have flown hundreds of thousands of miles, and in all that time I have never once had a “go around”, where the pilot aborts the landing last-minute and tries it again. Well, that happened to me today – and not just once, but THREE times.

I was flying into Denver, coming from Portland, and the weather in the afternoon was particularly feisty. The plane was a rollercoaster all the way down to about 200ft when the pilot felt the winds shift drastically. He slammed on the throttles and pulled up. I had already been desperate to get on the ground as I hate landings that bumpy (and it was very, very bumpy). We first tried for runway 7, heading east. That didn’t work, so we turned 180o and tried for runway 26, heading west. That didn’t work either, so we approached heading north for runway 34L. Again, no dice. So we circled around and gave 34L one last shot. We finally touched down.

I was sweating bullets, my stomach was upside down and people were nervously trying to laugh with each other the whole time as we bounced violently around the Denver skies. Each time we got close, I kept praying we’d make it down all the way and not give up again. But, I’m glad the pilot was patient and prudent. Thanks to his excellent flying, we had a great ending. It’s amazing the kind of pressure those pilots work under, and I’m very greatful for their skill and ability to be cool under pressure. The pilot even came on after landing and told us he just set a career record for most attempted landings.

I think I’ll stay here on the ground for a little while. It’s good to be back in Denver.