FAA Approach Plates: Plan View, Profile, and Minimums

To read an FAA approach plate, work top to bottom through its five stacked sections: the header and pilot briefing strip, the plan view, the profile view, the landing minimums table, and the airport diagram. Every civil instrument approach chart in the United States uses that same layout, so once the sections make sense on one plate, they make sense on all of them. Each section answers a different question during the approach, and the skill is knowing which section holds which answer when you need it.

Civil procedures are approved under 14 CFR Part 97, which prescribes standard instrument approach procedures and the weather minimums that apply to landings under IFR at civil airports.1eCFR. 14 CFR Part 97 — Standard Instrument Procedures The FAA publishes the charts for free through its digital Terminal Procedures Publication (d-TPP), available as individual PDFs from the FAA’s aeronautical products site.2Federal Aviation Administration. Terminal Procedures Publication (d-TPP)/Airport Diagrams Most pilots view them through an electronic flight bag app, but the layout below is the same whether you’re looking at paper or a tablet.

The Header and Pilot Briefing Strip

The top margin identifies the airport name, the location identifier, and the exact procedure name, such as “ILS or LOC RWY 19.” That procedure name tells you three things at once: the type of approach, the navigation system it uses, and the runway it serves. The effective date is printed here too. Flying an expired plate is both illegal and dangerous.

Below the header sits the pilot briefing strip. It carries the primary navaid frequency and identifier, the final approach course in magnetic degrees, and the missed approach instructions in text form. Communication frequencies for approach control, tower, and ground are listed in the order you’ll use them. The Touchdown Zone Elevation (TDZE) and airport elevation appear here as well.

Two triangle symbols in this area deserve attention. A triangle containing a “T” means the airport has non-standard takeoff minimums or obstacle departure procedures that you’ll need to look up separately. A triangle with an “A” warns of non-standard alternate minimums, which matters when you’re filing an alternate on your flight plan. Other notes may flag cold weather altitude correction requirements, equipment restrictions such as “Radar Required,” or minimum climb gradients for the missed approach.

Reading the Plan View

The plan view is the overhead map of the approach, showing the lateral course from the en route environment down to the final approach course. Feeder routes connect nearby navigation fixes to the Initial Approach Fix, with the magnetic course, distance, and minimum altitude labeled along each segment.

Navigation Fixes and Waypoint Symbols

Fixes along the course use standardized symbols for VORs, NDBs, and RNAV waypoints. On GPS-based procedures, pay attention to whether a waypoint is fly-by or fly-over. A fly-by waypoint is shown as a plain symbol, and your GPS will begin the turn before reaching it to smoothly intercept the next course. A fly-over waypoint is enclosed in a circle, meaning you must fly directly over it before starting any turn.3Federal Aviation Administration. Charting Waypoints with Both Fly-By and Fly-Over Functions Missing this distinction can put you well outside protected airspace during a turn.

Course Reversals

When the procedure requires you to reverse course to align with the final approach, the plan view shows a procedure turn or a holding pattern. A barbed arrow indicates a procedure turn. A racetrack pattern shows a hold-in-lieu-of-procedure-turn. Both maneuvers keep you within protected airspace while you lose altitude and get established inbound. If “NoPT” is annotated on a feeder route, you’re expected to proceed straight in from that direction without a course reversal.

MSA Circles and Terminal Arrival Areas

The Minimum Safe Altitude circle, usually in a corner of the plan view, provides at least 1,000 feet of obstacle clearance within a 25-nautical-mile radius of a designated fix or navaid. It may be divided into sectors with different altitudes depending on terrain. These altitudes are for emergency use only and don’t guarantee adequate navigation signal coverage.4Federal Aviation Administration. M – Pilot/Controller Glossary

Many modern RNAV approaches show a Terminal Arrival Area instead of or in addition to the MSA circle. TAAs use a “T” design with three sectors: straight-in, left-base, and right-base. Each sector has its own minimum altitude and feeds you to the appropriate IAF based on the direction you’re arriving from. Published TAA altitudes provide at least 1,000 feet of obstacle clearance, more in mountainous terrain.5Federal Aviation Administration. Section 4 – Arrival Procedures

Interpreting the Profile View

The profile view is a side-on depiction of the approach, showing your vertical path from the intermediate segment through the final approach to the missed approach point. This is where altitude restrictions live.

Step-Down Fixes

Vertical lines mark fixes along the final approach where minimum altitudes change. Solid vertical lines represent facilities or waypoints. Dashed vertical lines represent intersections or fixes defined by cross-radials or DME.6Federal Aviation Administration. Profile View Legend At each step-down fix, a minimum altitude is published. You must stay at or above that altitude until crossing the fix, then may descend to the next segment’s minimum. Descending before crossing a step-down fix is one of the most common and dangerous errors on non-precision approaches.

Vertical Guidance Labels

The profile view uses three labels to indicate how vertical guidance is provided. “GS” means an ILS electronic glide slope generated by a ground-based antenna. “GP” indicates a WAAS-derived glide path on RNAV procedures that publish a Decision Altitude. “VDA” stands for Vertical Descent Angle, which is advisory only: it provides a computed descent angle but no electronic guidance.6Federal Aviation Administration. Profile View Legend The Threshold Crossing Height (TCH) is displayed alongside the GS or GP angle, telling you how high above the runway threshold the glide path crosses.

On a precision approach like an ILS, the Final Approach Fix is marked with a lightning-bolt symbol at the point where you intercept the glide slope at the published altitude. On a non-precision approach, the FAF is marked with a cross symbol. That distinction tells you at a glance whether the procedure provides electronic vertical guidance or requires you to manage your own descent.

The Landing Minimums Table

The minimums table at the bottom of the plate determines whether you can legally attempt a landing. It lists the lowest altitude and minimum visibility for each type of approach and each aircraft category.

Decision Altitude vs. Minimum Descent Altitude

Approaches with vertical guidance (ILS, LPV, LNAV/VNAV) publish a Decision Altitude. When you reach the DA, you either have the runway environment in sight and continue, or you execute the missed approach. You don’t level off. You’re on a continuous descent, and the decision is binary.

Non-precision approaches (VOR, LOC, LNAV, NDB) publish a Minimum Descent Altitude. You descend to the MDA, level off, and fly at that altitude until you either see the runway environment or reach the missed approach point. A Visual Descent Point, marked with a bold “V” in the profile view, shows the point from which you can make a normal descent angle to the runway if the environment is in sight. If no VDP is published, you’ll need to judge the descent geometry yourself, and that’s where pilots get into trouble by diving for the runway from an MDA.

Aircraft Approach Categories

The minimums table is divided into columns by aircraft approach category. Your category is determined by 1.3 times your stall speed in landing configuration at maximum certificated landing weight, or by VREF if specified.7eCFR. 14 CFR 97.3 — Symbols and Terms Used in Procedures

  • Category A: less than 91 knots
  • Category B: 91 knots up to 120 knots
  • Category C: 121 knots up to 140 knots
  • Category D: 141 knots up to 165 knots
  • Category E: 166 knots or more

Most single-engine piston aircraft fall into Category A. Light twins and turboprops typically land in Category B. Using minimums for the wrong category means your obstacle clearance margins are built around a speed and turning radius that don’t match your airplane.

Straight-In and Circling Minimums

The minimums table typically shows two rows: straight-in minimums (labeled “S-” followed by the runway number) and circling minimums. Straight-in minimums apply when you land on the runway aligned with the approach course. Circling minimums apply when you need to maneuver visually to land on a different runway, and they’re always higher because the protected airspace must account for the turn at low altitude.

Approaches developed after late 2012 use expanded circling protected areas that account for true airspeed increases at higher altitudes. These are identified by a “C” symbol on the circling line of minimums. Older procedures without the “C” use a smaller, fixed-radius protected area. This matters most at high-altitude airports, where your true airspeed at the circling MDA is significantly faster than at sea level.

Visibility: RVR and Statute Miles

Visibility is published either in statute miles (such as “1” or “½”) or in Runway Visual Range in hundreds of feet (such as “2400” meaning 2,400 feet). RVR is measured by instruments near the runway and is more precise than prevailing visibility reported by a weather observer. The two scales don’t convert neatly, but the approximate equivalents are: RVR 2600 equals ½ statute mile, RVR 3500 equals ⅝ mile, and RVR 5500 equals 1 mile.8Federal Aviation Administration. Updating Terminal Procedure Publication Comparable Values of RVR and Visibility Table When an approach publishes RVR but the airport’s RVR equipment is out of service, you convert to the equivalent visibility value.

What You Must See to Land

Reaching the DA or MDA doesn’t automatically mean you can land. Federal regulations require three conditions to be met before you descend below minimums. You must be in a position to make a normal descent to the runway. The flight visibility must be at least what the approach prescribes. And you must have at least one of the following visual references for the intended runway distinctly visible and identifiable:9eCFR. 14 CFR 91.175 — Takeoff and Landing Under IFR

  • The approach light system. You may descend using approach lights alone, but not below 100 feet above the touchdown zone elevation unless you can also see the red terminating bars or red side row bars.
  • The threshold, threshold markings, or threshold lights.
  • The runway end identifier lights (REIL).
  • The visual glideslope indicator (VASI or PAPI).
  • The touchdown zone, touchdown zone markings, or touchdown zone lights.
  • The runway, runway markings, or runway lights.

The 100-foot restriction on approach lights catches people off guard. Seeing the lead-in lights is enough to leave the MDA or continue past the DA, but if the red bars haven’t appeared by the time you’re 100 feet above the touchdown zone, you’re going missed. Knowing which lighting system the airport has, information printed on the plate’s airport diagram, helps you anticipate what you’ll actually see as you break out of the clouds.

The Missed Approach

Every plate includes a missed approach procedure, shown in three places: as text in the pilot briefing strip, as a graphical depiction at the right end of the profile view, and as a dashed line in the plan view showing the lateral course.

You execute the missed approach when you arrive at the missed approach point without sufficient visual reference to land, when you determine a safe landing isn’t possible, or when ATC tells you to go around. On a precision approach, the MAP is the Decision Altitude. On a non-precision approach, the MAP is defined by a fix, a DME distance, or by timing from the FAF.10Federal Aviation Administration. Aeronautical Charting Meeting Instrument Procedures Group Recommendation Document Timing is the least accurate method and adds workload, which is why modern GPS procedures define the MAP as a waypoint instead.

The graphical icons in the profile view are designed as a quick reference during a high-workload phase of flight. When the text includes “then climb” or “then climbing,” the graphical depiction uses a heavier line to distinguish the climbing segment from level flight. Multiple altitude boxes may appear to separate different phases of the climb.11Federal Aviation Administration. Missed Approach Icon Altitudes The icons are a memory aid, not a substitute for reading the full text. The text is the controlling instruction and always takes precedence.

Matching the Procedure Name to the Right Line of Minimums

The procedure name at the top of the plate tells you what kind of approach you’re flying, and that determines which line in the minimums section applies to you.

An ILS is the classic precision approach: a ground-based localizer for lateral guidance and a glide slope for vertical guidance, resulting in a DA that can be as low as 200 feet above the touchdown zone. VOR, NDB, and localizer-only approaches provide lateral course guidance but no electronic vertical path. You manage your descent using step-down fixes and timing or DME, flying to an MDA that is typically 400 to 600 feet above the runway, sometimes higher.

RNAV approaches are where the minimums table gets interesting, because a single plate may publish several lines depending on your equipment. From lowest to highest:12Federal Aviation Administration. Required Navigation Performance (RNP) Approaches

  • LPV (Localizer Performance with Vertical Guidance) uses WAAS for both lateral and vertical guidance. Minimums can rival a standard ILS, sometimes as low as 200 feet DA.
  • LNAV/VNAV uses either WAAS or an approved barometric VNAV system for vertical guidance. It publishes a DA, typically higher than LPV.
  • LP (Localizer Performance) provides WAAS lateral guidance only, no vertical path. It requires WAAS equipment but publishes an MDA, not a DA.
  • LNAV is basic GPS lateral guidance. It publishes an MDA. WAAS is not required, though WAAS-equipped GPS units can fly this line.

Always check which line your equipment actually qualifies for. Flying to LPV minimums with a non-WAAS GPS is prohibited, and the navigator won’t provide the guidance anyway, so you’d be descending below a safe altitude with no vertical reference at all.

Inoperative Components and Cold Temperature Corrections

When a component of the approach lighting or navigation system is out of service, published minimums may no longer apply. An Inoperative Components table, printed on the front of the U.S. TPP booklet and available in EFB apps, specifies how much to increase visibility minimums.13Federal Aviation Administration. Inoperative Components or Visual Aids Table

  • For an ILS, LPV, or GLS at standard Category I minimums with any approach light system other than ODALS out, add ½ statute mile to the published visibility.
  • For an ILS, LPV, or GLS at RVR 1800–2200 minimums with ALSF, MALSR, or SSALR out, add ¼ mile.
  • For all other approach types and lines of minima with ALSF, MALSR, SSALR, MALSF, MALS, or similar systems out, add ½ mile.

Notes on the plate itself can override this table, so always check plate-specific notes first. The table does not apply to circling minimums.

Cold air is denser than the standard atmosphere model your altimeter relies on, so your true altitude is lower than what the altimeter reads. At airports designated as Cold Temperature Airports, the plate publishes a temperature threshold. When the reported temperature falls at or below that value, you must apply altitude corrections to the published procedure altitudes.14Federal Aviation Administration. ENR 1.8 – Cold Temperature Barometric Altimeter Errors, Setting Procedures, and Cold Temperature Airports You calculate the correction using the ICAO Cold Temperature Error Table by finding the difference between the procedure altitude and the airport elevation, then looking up the correction value. The corrected MDA or DA is rounded up to the next 100 feet. Tell ATC the corrected altitude for any segment except the final segment. You do not change your altimeter setting to accomplish this. You fly to a higher indicated altitude while keeping the altimeter set to the current local setting.

The Airport Diagram

The bottom of the plate includes a simplified airport diagram showing the runway layout, taxiways, and key features you need for situational awareness during the landing roll and taxi. The lighting systems installed on the approach runway are noted here, and that information directly affects what visual references you can expect to see at minimums. Runway length, width, elevation, and displaced thresholds are depicted. On plates for airports with complex layouts, the diagram helps you plan your taxi route before you break out of the clouds, which is exactly when you don’t want to be figuring it out for the first time.

Keeping Your Charts Current

FAA approach plates are updated on a 28-day cycle, with new effective dates published on a schedule available from the FAA.15Federal Aviation Administration. 28 and 56 Day Product Schedule Procedures can change with each cycle. A new obstacle might raise a minimum altitude, a frequency could change, or a procedure could be amended or canceled entirely. Flying an expired plate means you may be relying on obstacle clearance that no longer exists.

EFB apps handle updates automatically as long as you download the current cycle before the old one expires. If you still use paper charts, the 28-day subscription through the FAA’s digital products page is free.2Federal Aviation Administration. Terminal Procedures Publication (d-TPP)/Airport Diagrams Either way, check NOTAMs before every IFR flight. NOTAMs can temporarily change minimums, close a procedure, or flag inoperative components between chart cycles.