Definition
A maneuver in which a turn is made away from a designated track followed by a turn in the opposite direction to permit the aircraft to intercept and proceed along the reciprocal of the designated track. Under ICAO, procedure turns are designated as 'left' or 'right' according to the direction of the initial turn.
Plain English
A standard course-reversal maneuver flown on an instrument approach. The aircraft turns one way, then turns back the other way, so it ends up flying the same track in the opposite direction — lined up to head back inbound.
Context Anchor
Seen on instrument approach charts when a pilot must reverse direction before continuing the approach.
Derivation
Procedure comes from Latin words meaning “to go forward” or “to proceed.” In aviation, a procedure is an established way to do something. That helps here because this is not just any turn; it is a published, expected way to reverse direction.
Why Pilots Care
Enables a safe, standardized reversal of direction or loss of altitude while remaining on the published approach path.
Intuition Check
Do not read this as simply “a turn done during a procedure.” In this context, it means a specific published direction-reversal maneuver with a defined purpose.
Example Sentence 1
The approach chart called for a right procedure turn, so the pilot rolled into a turn to the right before reversing course back inbound.
Example Sentence 2
The approach required a procedure turn to lose altitude before intercepting the final approach segment.