Definition
A non-precision instrument approach procedure that uses a VOR (VHF Omnidirectional Range) ground station as the primary navigation source to guide an aircraft from the en route environment down to a published minimum descent altitude near the destination runway. It provides lateral course guidance only, with no electronic glidepath, and is flown by tracking a specified radial inbound to or outbound from the VOR while observing published altitudes, fixes, and the missed approach point.
Plain English
A way of finding and lining up with a runway in cloud or low visibility by following a signal from a VOR ground station. It tells you left and right, but not up and down, so you step the aircraft down through published altitudes until you either see the runway or fly the missed approach.
Context Anchor
You see this term on instrument approach charts, in avionics menus, during instrument training, and in air traffic control clearances such as “cleared VOR approach.”
Derivation
VOR stands for VHF Omnidirectional Range — a ground-based radio aid that broadcasts directional signals (radials) outward in every direction. 'Approach' refers to the published procedure for descending from cruise to land. So a VOR approach is literally an approach procedure built around following VOR radials.
Why Pilots Care
Provides a reliable backup navigation method for landing in instrument conditions where visual references are unavailable.
Intuition Check
Do not read “VOR approach” as simply “an approach near a VOR.” It means a specific published instrument procedure that uses VOR signals as the main left-right guidance.
Example Sentence 1
With the ILS out of service, the controller cleared us for the VOR approach to Runway 24.
Example Sentence 2
Before starting the VOR approach, the crew tuned the correct frequency and verified the radial.