B757-200
Flight Crew Multiengine; Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 100; Flight Crew Total 8300; Flight Crew Type 95
Situational Awareness
ATC Issue All Types; Deviation - Speed All Types; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Inflight Event / Encounter Unstabilized Approach
Flight Crew Executed Go Around / Missed Approach
Human Factors
We were given a late decent by the controller that exceeded speed brake capability to descend from 13000 to 2500 at ZZZZ. We had been cleared the Visual to RWY 7 and had set up fly the ILS for the path. The Landing Gear was dropped at about 8000 ft to augment the speed brake and achieve the descent required. It was a steep descent; but should have worked fine. As we approached ZZZZZ; we slowed and configured to flaps 5; and I retracted the speed brake and went to flaps 20. At about 2 miles to ZZZZZ it was apparent that a little more speed brake was required and was re-extended with the intent that it be brief. At this point the approach mode was armed with the GS marker showing about 1.5 dots high. We then immediately; but briefly got GS capture; then GS fail (line through the GS symbol); apparently a false GS capture; and the aircraft began to level off in the turn to capture the localizer. The Auto throttle was slow to respond to the pitch up with the speed brake exacerbating the situation; the result being that the aircraft slowed to stick shaker before the auto throttle had adjusted for the new attitude. I immediately disengaged the autopilot; pitched down; added power and the F/O retracted the speed brake. A safe speed was immediately reestablished. We continued the descent momentarily while we assessed our approach; concluding we were no longer in a safe position to land and executed a go around. We were vectored back to the same approach which concluded uneventfully. The aggressive descent from which we tried to transition to an approach left us with very little leeway to adapt to errors and make corrections. The false GS capture was all it took to push us out of workable flight parameters. I thought we were going to get down in plenty of time; but it was closer than I realized. The FO had suggested early on to get a new vector away from ZZZZZ to build some space; which would have slowed things down and allowed us to capture the GS earlier and maybe adapt to the system failure. I will avoid such aggressive descents in the future to ensure that all the transitions and configuration changes occur in a comfortable sequence instead of all at once.
B757 Captain reported late descent requiring excessive slowing of aircraft; resulting in a go around.