Definition
Published procedures that guide an aircraft from the en route environment down to a position from which a landing can be made, using cockpit instruments and ground- or satellite-based navigation aids rather than visual reference to the ground. Each procedure specifies courses to fly, altitudes to descend to, and minimum visibility and cloud-clearance values required to continue to landing.
Plain English
A step-by-step set of instructions a pilot follows on the flight instruments to safely descend through clouds or low visibility and line up with a runway for landing.
Context Anchor
Seen on instrument approach charts, in instrument flight training, and in air traffic control clearances near the destination airport.
Derivation
"Approach" comes from the Latin appropiare, meaning to come near. An instrument approach is literally the process of coming near to the runway by reference to instruments instead of the eyes.
Why Pilots Care
They enable safe landings in weather that would otherwise make visual approaches impossible, directly supporting continued flight operations and reducing weather-related accidents.
Intuition Check
An instrument approach is not just any approach flown while looking at instruments. In aviation, it means a specific published procedure with defined paths, altitudes, and instructions.
Example Sentence 1
With the airport reporting a 400-foot ceiling, the crew briefed the instrument approach before beginning their descent.
Example Sentence 2
During the checkride the examiner asked the student to fly a full instrument approach in simulated instrument conditions.