Definition
An aircraft is considered to have completed a radar approach when it lands, executes a missed approach, or is handed off to the tower or final approach controller for landing. The radar controller's responsibility for that approach ends at one of these defined endpoints.
Plain English
The radar approach is finished once the aircraft lands, goes around, or is passed to another controller for the final part of the landing.
Context Anchor
Seen in FAA glossary and air traffic control procedures describing when radar service ends after an approach.
Derivation
“Radar” began as a shortened form of “radio detection and ranging,” meaning finding an object’s position by radio signals. That helps here because a radar approach is based on the controller seeing the aircraft’s position on radar and guiding it toward the runway.
Why Pilots Care
Marks the exact moment radar services stop so the pilot knows they are now responsible for the final landing or missed approach without further guidance.
Intuition Check
Do not read this as only meaning “the airplane landed.” In this FAA context, it means the radar-guided approach has reached its endpoint, and radar service for that approach ends automatically.
Example Sentence 1
Once the aircraft was switched to tower for landing clearance, the radar approach was considered complete.
Example Sentence 2
After the aircraft completes a radar approach the pilot reports the runway in sight and cancels IFR.