You have just crossed the runway threshold, and the width of the runway suddenly fills your windscreen faster than you expected. You quickly pull back on the control yoke, feel the airplane stall, and touch down hard on the runway…
When Does a Late/Rapid Flare Occur?
Your natural reaction to an unexpected low altitude above the runway is to apply excessive back pressure to prevent touching down too early or landing too hard.
So why do late flares happen? Often, it is the result of not focusing your eyes far enough down the runway during the roundout and flare, but it can also be caused by the illusion of a narrower-than-usual runway.
If you are surprised by a late flare, one of three situations typically occurs: a ballooning, a hard landing, or a nosewheel-first landing. Let’s examine each one in detail…
Ballooning Without Touchdown
If you pull back on the yoke abruptly, you may avoid the hard touchdown you were trying to avoid. However, you will likely enter a balloon as a result.
During a balloon, as the airplane begins climbing away from the runway, your airspeed continues to decrease. This brings you close to stall speed as you increase your distance from the pavement.
So what should you do to correct it? If the balloon is small, use a slight increase in power to reduce your descent rate, maintain your pitch attitude, and touch down on the runway. But if the balloon is large, add full power and go around. Correcting a large balloon is difficult, and it is safer to simply go around and try again.
Hard Landing
If you apply back pressure too rapidly in a late flare, your angle of attack can quickly exceed the critical angle of attack. The result? A stall and a hard landing.
So what should you do in this situation? Adding power is the key. Similar to the balloon, if you have enough time, adding a small amount of power will help arrest your descent rate. However, if you are rapidly approaching the runway, adding full power and going around is again the best option.
Keep in mind that you may touch down on the runway during your go-around. Maintain your power, enter the pattern, and try again.
Nosewheel-First Impact and Porpoising
Let’s say you do not flare at all. If you do nothing or your reaction is extremely late, you will likely touch down on the nosewheel first. If you bounce back into the air (which is likely), do not force the plane back down to the runway. Execute an immediate go-around to prevent porpoising and a potential prop strike or nosewheel collapse.
Should You Recover or Go Around?
The key to recovering from a late/rapid flare is the swift application of power.
While there are many cases where a slight increase in power can slow your descent rate for a smoother landing, in most cases, an immediate go-around is a much safer alternative.
Preventing the Late Flare
As they say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. So how do you prevent a late flare in the first place? Learn more about how to time your flare and what visual cues to look for here.
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