Definition
A soft key on the Garmin GNS/GTN-style Nearest Airports page that loads the published instrument approach procedure for the selected airport into the active flight plan. The pilot can then choose the specific approach, transition, and whether to load it for later activation or activate it immediately.
Plain English
A button that pulls up the instrument approach for the airport you have highlighted and puts it into your flight plan, ready to fly.
Context Anchor
Seen on the Nearest Airports page in instrument-panel navigation systems when selecting an approach for a nearby airport.
Derivation
"Load" here means to bring the approach data into the active flight plan, the same way you load a file into a program. "APR" is short for approach. The label is shortened because soft key space on the unit's screen is limited.
Why Pilots Care
It lets the pilot quickly insert an approach without leaving the nearest-airports view, saving time during diversion or last-minute planning.
Intuition Check
Do not read LD APR as “the airplane will now fly the approach.” It means “put this approach into the navigation system so it is ready to use.”
Example Sentence 1
After declaring the diversion, she highlighted the nearest airport, pressed LD APR, and selected the RNAV 27 approach with the vectors-to-final transition.
Example Sentence 2
After reviewing the available approaches, the pilot tapped LD APR to add the ILS to the active route.