Notes on the Instrument Procedures Handbook – Arrivals
FAA-H-8083-16 Instrument Procedures Handbook
Chapter 3 Arrivals
Descending From the En Route Altitude
Making the transition from cruise flight to the beginning of an instrument approach procedure sometimes requires arriving at a given waypoint at an assigned altitude. When this requirement is prescribed by a published arrival procedure or issued by ATC, it is called a crossing restriction.
Descend at the optimum rate for the aircraft being flown until 1,000 feet above the assigned altitude, then descend at a rate between 500 and 1,500 fpm to the assigned altitude.
When ATC issues a clearance to descend at pilot’s discretion, pilots may begin the descent whenever they choose and at any rate of their choosing. Pilots are also authorized to level off, temporarily, at any intermediate altitude during the descent. However, once the aircraft leaves an altitude, it may not return to that altitude.
Sterile Flight Deck Rules
14 CFR Part 121, section 121.542 and Part 135, section 135.100, Flight Crewmember Duties, commonly referred to as “sterile flight deck rules”. The provisions in this rule can help pilots, operating under any regulations, to avoid altitude and course deviations during arrival. In part, it states: (a) No certificate holder should require, nor may any flight crewmember perform, any duties during a critical phase of flight except those duties required for the safe operation of the aircraft.
b) No flight crewmember may engage in, nor may any pilot in command permit, any activity during a critical phase of flight that could distract any flight crewmember from the performance of his or her duties or which could interfere in any way with the proper conduct of those duties.
Standard Terminal Arrival Routes (STARs)
STARs start at the en route structure but do not make it down to the pavement; they end at a fix or NAVAID designated by ATC, where radar vectors commonly take over.
The STAR and approach procedure should connect to one another in such a way as to maintain the overall descent and deceleration profiles. This often results in a seamless transition between the en route, arrival, and approach phases of flight, and serves as a preferred route into high volume terminal areas.
STAR procedures typically include a standardized descent gradient at and above 10,000 feet MSL of 318 feet per nautical mile (FPNM), or 3 degrees. Below 10,000 feet MSL, the maximum descent rate is 330 FPNM, or approximately 3.1 degrees.
Use of a STAR requires pilot possession of at least the approved chart. RNAV STARs must be retrievable by the procedure name from the aircraft database and conform to charted procedure.
A STAR is simply a published routing; it does not have the force of a clearance until issued specifically by ATC.
During arrivals, when cleared for an instrument approach, maintain the last assigned altitude until established on a published segment of the approach or on a segment of a published route. If no altitude is assigned with the approach clearance and the aircraft is already on a published segment, the pilot can descend to its minimum altitude for that segment of the approach.
14 CFR Part 91, section 91.117 still apply during speed adjustments. It is the pilot’s responsibility to advise ATC if an assigned speed adjustment would cause an exceedence of these limits. For operations in Class C or D airspace at or below 2,500 feet above ground level (AGL), within 4 NM of the primary airport, ATC has the authority to approve a faster speed than those prescribed.
It is normal to level off at 2,500 feet above airport elevation to slow to the 200 KIAS limit that applies within the surface limits of Class C or D airspace. Controllers anticipate this action and plan accordingly.
Holding Patterns
If aircraft reach a clearance limit before receiving a further clearance from ATC, a holding pattern is required at the last assigned altitude.
DME and IFR-certified GPS equipment offer some additional options for holding. Rather than being based on time, the leg lengths for DME/GPS holding patterns are based on distances in nautical miles. These patterns use the same entry and holding procedures as conventional holding patterns. The controller or the instrument approach procedure chart specifies the length of the outbound leg. The end of the outbound leg is determined by the DME or the along track distance (ATD) readout.
When flying published GPS overlay or standalone procedures with distance specified, the holding fix is a waypoint in the database and the end of the outbound leg is determined by the ATD (along track distance).
Approach Clearance
The approach clearance provides guidance to a position from where the pilot can execute the approach. It is also a clearance to fly that approach.
When a vector takes the aircraft across the final approach course, pilots are informed by ATC and the reason for the action is stated. In the event that ATC is not able to inform the aircraft, the pilot is not expected to turn inbound on the final approach course unless an approach clearance has been issued.
The following ATC arrival instructions are issued to an IFR aircraft before it reaches the approach gate:
1. Position relative to a fix on the final approach course. If none is portrayed on the controller’s radar display or if none is prescribed in the instrument approach procedure, ATC issues position information relative to the airport or relative to the NAVAID that provides final approach guidance.
2. Vector to intercept the final approach course if required.
3. Approach clearance except when conducting a radar approach. ATC issues the approach clearance only after the aircraft is established on a segment of a published route or instrument approach procedure.
Sometimes IAPs have no initial segment and require vectors. “RADAR REQUIRED” is charted in the plan view.