Definition
An approach in which the final approach phase is executed under the direction of a controller using radar. The controller provides the pilot with headings, and in some cases altitude information, to guide the aircraft to a position from which a landing can be made.
Plain English
An approach where a controller watches the aircraft on radar and tells the pilot what headings to fly so the aircraft ends up lined up with the runway and ready to land.
Context Anchor
You may see this term in instrument flying procedures, especially when ATC is providing approach guidance instead of the pilot following only cockpit navigation equipment.
Derivation
Radar comes from 'Radio Detection And Ranging' — a system that uses radio waves to find aircraft and measure their distance. A radar approach is therefore an approach guided by what the controller sees on that radar display.
Why Pilots Care
Allows a safe landing at airports without precision landing aids such as an ILS when visibility is low.
Intuition Check
Do not read “radar approach” as simply an approach where radar happens to be nearby. In this meaning, radar is being used by ATC to actively guide the aircraft toward landing.
Example Sentence 1
Unable to receive the navigation aid, the crew requested a radar approach and followed the controller's headings down to the runway.
Example Sentence 2
During the radar approach the pilot maintained the assigned headings until visual contact with the runway was established.