Definition
An instrument approach procedure that aligns the final approach course with the runway centerline (or within 30 degrees of it) and provides lateral guidance only, with no electronic glide path for vertical guidance. Examples include VOR, NDB, LOC (localizer-only), LDA, SDF, GPS, and RNAV (LNAV) approaches that publish straight-in minimums.
Plain English
An instrument approach that lines you up with the runway and tells you where to go side-to-side, but does not give you an electronic glide path down. You manage the descent yourself using the published step-down altitudes.
Context Anchor
Seen in instrument approach charts and alternate airport planning, especially when deciding whether an alternate airport meets the required weather minimums for a commercial flight.
Derivation
"Straight-in" means the final segment lines up with the runway so you don't need a circling maneuver to land. "Non-precision" means the approach gives lateral guidance but no precise vertical guidance — "precision" approaches (like ILS) provide both.
Why Pilots Care
It sets the higher weather minimums required for commercial alternate airports when only lateral guidance is available.
Intuition Check
Do not read “straight-in” as meaning the airplane flies one perfectly straight line from far away. It means the final approach is aligned with the runway well enough to land without circling. Do not read “non-precision” as meaning careless or inaccurate; it means the procedure lacks approved precision vertical guidance.
Example Sentence 1
Because the destination only had a VOR straight-in non-precision approach, the crew applied the higher alternate minimums when planning the flight.
Example Sentence 2
Alternate minimums for a straight-in non-precision approach require a higher ceiling than a precision approach.