Coantact Approach

1 Answers

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   AviatorTrevor88 on Nov 23, 2020

   There is no “missed approach” for both visual approaches and contact approaches. For a contact approach, AIM 5-4-25 states the pilot should reasonably expect to continue to the destination airport clear of clouds and with at least 1SM visibility. So, if you estimate that you can maintain those requirements and then it turns out you cannot maintain those requirements, you screwed up, just like a VFR-only pilot screwed up when they put themselves into a situation where they cannot maintain VFR weather minimums. If there’s any doubt you can’t maintain those weather requirements, don’t ask for a contact approach.

   The AIM doesn’t give guidance on what to do if you need to abort the approach while on a contact approach, but it does give some guidance on what to do if you need to abort a visual approach (AIM 5-4-23(e)). You might need to go around for traffic, weather, wind sheer, unstable approach, etc. The advice the AIM gives is to “advise ATC immediately” if you’re at a controlled airport – ATC will issue instructions (i.e. “fly runway heading, climb and maintain 3000”). At uncontrolled airports, the AIM says “aircraft are expected to remain clear of clouds and complete a landing as soon as possible. If a landing cannot be accomplished, the aircraft is expected to remain clear of clouds and contact ATC as soon as possible for further clearance.” In this case, ATC would be the approach control since you were at an uncontrolled field. Often times, pilots cancel IFR when approaching an uncontrolled field, in which case you are meeting VFR weather minimums and should just fly as a VFR aircraft.

   So, if you inadvertently enter IMC during a contact approach, this is an emergency. Treat it as such – just choose a reasonable course of action that you know will likely result in you avoiding obstacles. If climbing straight ahead and rejoining an approach segment and missed approach segment seems to be “reasonable” to you to avoid slamming into the side of a mountain, then do that – it’s an emergency. If climbing while using your TAWS (Terrain Awareness Warning System) or synthetic vision to avoid terrain seems like a safe thing to do, then do that – it’s an emergency.

   I, personally, would not be asking for a contact approach in such low weather. A contact approach is useful when perhaps I was cleared for a visual approach at an airport that has an instrument approach procedure, and I am unable to see the airport maybe due to the sun being in my eyes but have fairly good weather conditions to safely avoid obstacles. In that case, requesting a contact approach removes the requirement for me to see the runway or proceeding traffic to be cleared for the approach.

   Another scenario in which I might be inclined to ask for a contact approach is when I am flying a non-precision approach that has a high MDA – I bust out of the clouds with say 2 miles visibility and I have guidance to the runway but can’t see the runway yet. If I don’t descend from MDA at that moment, I will end up being too high to land on a straight-in and will have to either go missed or convert the approach into a circling approach. So, I ask for the contact approach to permit me to descend below MDA and continue to the airport using my lateral guidance from my NAV radio and using my eyeballs to avoid obstacles as I continue descending on a reasonable glideslope to the runway that I can’t yet see but expect to see very soon.

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