Definition
The official FAA design criteria used to construct instrument approach, departure, and arrival procedures in the United States. TERPs specifies the obstacle clearance requirements, descent gradients, protected airspace dimensions, and minimum altitudes that every published instrument procedure must meet to be considered safe for use in instrument meteorological conditions.
Plain English
The FAA's rulebook for designing instrument approaches. It sets the minimum standards that every published approach, departure, and arrival in the U.S. must meet so that pilots flying them have guaranteed clearance from terrain and obstacles.
Context Anchor
Seen when instrument approach charts or FAA handbooks explain how approach routes, altitudes, and minimums are designed.
Derivation
TERPs stands for Terminal Instrument Procedures. 'Terminal' here means the area near an airport where aircraft transition between en route flight and landing — it is the same root used in 'air terminal.' The criteria apply specifically to that terminal phase of flight.
Why Pilots Care
TERPs standards guarantee obstacle clearance and navigation signal protection on every published approach.
Intuition Check
Do not read “terminal” as the airport passenger building. Here it means the airport-area part of the flight where an aircraft is arriving, departing, or approaching to land. Do not read “standard” as a casual best practice. Here it means an official FAA design standard used to build published procedures.
Example Sentence 1
Every instrument approach in the U.S. is designed to TERPs criteria, which is why the published minimum altitudes guarantee obstacle clearance when flown correctly.
Example Sentence 2
Controllers and pilots both depend on TERPs-compliant procedures when weather forces an instrument arrival.