Circling Approaches

A Circling Approach is a maneuver initiated by the pilot to align the aircraft with a runway for landing when a straight-in landing from an instrument approach is not possible or desirable. There are two cases when this occurs:

  • Approach not aligned with the runway
  • Circling patterns
  • Approach aligned with the runway, but not on the runway where you want to land
  • Sidestep maneuver
Benefits

This feature facilitates a reduction in crew workload in a busy terminal environment by allowing the pilot to automatically conduct a circle-to-land maneuver.