Definition
The final phase of a flight in which the pilot transitions the aircraft from cruise or pattern altitude down toward the runway, aligns with it, manages descent and airspeed, and touches down. It begins when the pilot configures the aircraft for arrival (typically reducing power, extending flaps, and lowering landing gear if applicable) and ends when the aircraft is safely on the runway and slowed to taxi speed.
Plain English
The part of the flight where the pilot brings the aircraft down toward the runway, lines it up, and lands it.
Context Anchor
Seen in workload management discussions, training plans, and flight reviews when the flight is divided into phases such as takeoff, cruise, approach, and landing.
Derivation
Approach comes from an older French word meaning to come nearer. Landing comes from land, meaning to bring something onto the ground. Together, the phrase points to both parts of the task: getting near the landing area and then putting the aircraft safely on the surface.
Why Pilots Care
This phase produces the majority of accidents and incidents because task load peaks while time and altitude margins shrink.
Intuition Check
Do not read Approach & Landing as only the instant the wheels touch the runway. In aviation training, it includes the setup before landing, the descent to the landing area, the touchdown, and the slowdown after touchdown.
Example Sentence 1
The instructor reminded the student to brief the approach and landing well before entering the traffic pattern, so the cockpit workload would stay manageable.
Example Sentence 2
During approach and landing the pilot must simultaneously fly the aircraft, monitor the instruments, and respond to ATC instructions.