Definition
The specific missed approach procedure printed on an instrument approach chart, defining the exact climb, course, altitudes, and holding instructions a pilot must fly if the approach cannot be completed to a landing.
Plain English
It is the printed escape route on the approach chart. If you cannot land from the approach, you fly exactly what the chart tells you to fly: climb on this heading or course, level off at this altitude, then go to this fix and hold.
Context Anchor
Seen on instrument approach charts and used during instrument approaches, especially before reaching the point where the pilot must either continue to land or go missed.
Derivation
‘Published’ here means printed on the official approach chart. The pilot is not inventing a route; they are flying the route the procedure designer already worked out and made available in the chart publication.
Why Pilots Care
Following the published missed approach guarantees obstacle clearance and proper separation from other traffic when a landing cannot be completed.
Grounding Statement
If the runway environment is not safely usable at the required point, the published missed approach gives the pilot the next safe set of instructions.
Intuition Check
Do not read “missed” as “failed” or “forgotten.” Here it means the landing was not completed, so the pilot follows the official go-around procedure for that instrument approach.
Example Sentence 1
Unable to see the runway environment at minimums, the pilot began the published missed approach: climb to 2,000 feet, then direct to the holding fix.
Example Sentence 2
When the runway lights remained obscured, the crew executed the published missed approach and climbed to the assigned altitude.