B737-800
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Situational Awareness; Confusion; Workload
Deviation - Track / Heading All Types; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Clearance; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
Air Traffic Control Issued New Clearance; Flight Crew Executed Go Around / Missed Approach; Flight Crew Became Reoriented
Weather; Procedure; Human Factors
On approach to DCA Runway 1 ILS; we were tracking the LOC/Glideslope (GS). At approximately 1000 feet AGL I disconnected Autopilot/Auto-throttles (or so I thought) to continue the approach hand flying using the HUD. The Flight Director went into Go-Around mode. We spent about a second or two trying to recover the flight director ILS mode and then I made the decision to miss the approach. (We were IMC and the ceiling was about 300 feet)We advised Tower that we were going around. Tower cleared us to track outbound on the 325 degree radial of DCA VOR and maintain 2000 feet. At that time I set the Course Selector to 325 (also the published miss) and continued inbound while climbing to 2000 feet (we were still about a mile or two out). Tower switched us over to Departure Control; who then cleared us to turn left to heading 270 and maintain 3000 feet.Approach kept us in a very close-in box pattern and gave us a turn to base at 2000 feet. On base leg I noted that we had a thirty knot tailwind and I felt we were going to be late on the turn to intercept. I reached up and increased the bank angle from 25 to 30 degrees. They gave us the intercept turn as the LOC came 'Alive' and we did in fact fly through the localizer. The aircraft (autopilot) flew through the LOC course to the east and then corrected back with a new intercept from the east side. As the CDI began to center the aircraft (autopilot) continued to drift west of the LOC course. We advised Approach that we were unable to intercept the Localizer and they vectored back again for another intercept; but further out. (In my mind) I blamed the fact that we were unable to intercept on the late turn and the 30 knots of crosswind at 2000 feet. But as they vectored us and we completed our checks; I realized that I had never reset the CDI Course back to 006; the inbound course of the Localizer. It was set on the missed approach course of 325. During the 'new' downwind we were able to properly setup the approach and land without further incident.Prior to the first approach; we were well setup and well briefed. Had the TOGA button not been activated; it would have been a nice approach and landing without incident. However; why did I hit the TOGA button? Either I hit it by mistake; or my finger hit it when my hand tensed up as my thumb pushed the throttle disconnect; I don't know. But when it went into 'Go-Around'; the Auto-throttles were disconnected. Not sure what happened. We tried to salvage the approach (reset the automation); but after a second or two; I felt that the safest thing to do was miss the approach and come back around and do it again. Having not discussed or briefed it; I didn't want to shut all the automation off and fly a raw data approach down to a 300 ft ceiling. I felt that that was a 'Sucker Hole' in the 'Swiss Cheese'.Tower cleared us to track outbound on the 325 degree radial of DCA VOR (the published missed approach). Even though I was navigating with LNAV on the miss; I reset my Course Selector to 325 as one more backstop to turn before the prohibited area; along with the Heading Bug which we had set to 325 when we intercepted the Localizer course. We had briefed this in the approach briefing.The Controllers in the DC area do an excellent job and they move a lot of traffic; and I would bet that the controller thought that he was doing us a favor; getting us quickly and efficiently back to the ILS; but he had no idea how busy we were; nor did we tell him. I never did a proper setup and re-brief of the approach. I should not have accepted the turn to base when we were not ready for the approach. Once on base leg; I had a feeling that something was not quite right; but I wrote it off to the very close turn and very short base leg and the winds blowing toward the localizer. I also blamed the fact that we were unable to re-capture the Localizer after we had flown through it; on the late turn to intercept... But; had my Course Selectorbeen set; the aircraft (autopilot) would have recovered in time for GS intercept.If we had had a longer downwind and a longer base leg we would have had more time to setup and re-brief the approach; not to mention the fact that a longer base would have likely given me the situational awareness to figure out what was 'not quite right' if somehow I had missed it in the setup and re-brief.One other thing we found very distracting was being asked several times 'Why are you going around?' while we were in the miss. We told them to standby; but it was still very distracting.I pride myself with being expeditious without being rushed; but in this case I was not only rushed; but I allowed my FO (the pilot monitoring) to be rushed as well. He did an excellent job; but he was heads down most of the time; reprograming the FMS and making radio calls.
B737-800 Captain reported he accidentally hit the TOGA button on an ILS approach and chose to go-around. Other errors were made during the next approach before he and the First Officer regained full situational awareness.