Plain English Meaning

A radio signal that guides the airplane toward an airport along a path that does not line up with the runway, so the pilot must maneuver to line up with the runway near the end of the approach.

Full Definition

A non-precision instrument approach navigation aid that uses a localizer transmitter comparable in accuracy to an ILS localizer, but which is not aligned with the runway centerline. Because of this offset, the LDA provides lateral guidance only and is not part of a full ILS system. Some LDA approaches are paired with a glide slope, in which case vertical guidance is also ; without a glide slope, the LDA supports a .