The Contact Approach

There are three ways to arrive at an airport when operating under IFR: a standard instrument approach procedure (IAP), a visual approach and a contact approach. A great way to bring hangar flying to a screeching halt is to ask about a contact approach. A lot of IFR pilots know that it is some sort of visually-flown maneuver, but when asked how it differs from a visual approach, blank stares often ensue. Lets fix that.

Key Takeaways:

• A visual approach is conducted to an airport that is legally in Visual Meteorological Conditions (VMC), requiring at least 1000-foot ceiling and 3 miles visibility.
• A contact approach is a visually-flown maneuver to an airport reporting Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC), where the pilot must request it, operate clear of clouds, and maintain at least one mile flight visibility.
• For a contact approach, the pilot is solely responsible for terrain and obstruction clearance, and ATC can only issue clearance if the airport has an Instrument Approach Procedure (IAP) and reports at least one statute mile ground visibility.
• Contact approaches place significant responsibility on the pilot, are never suggested by ATC, and commercial operators often impose additional, stringent restrictions due to inherent risks.

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