An instrument approach chart packs a whole arrival onto one page, and the first time you see one it is a wall of symbols. But the layout is standardised, so once you know where each piece lives you can read any chart in the same order, top to bottom, and brief the approach the way you will fly it.
This is general educational information, not operational, legal, or regulatory advice. Rules differ by authority and change over time. Always verify against current official sources and follow your operator's approved procedures.
The five parts of a chart
Whether the chart comes from a State publisher or a commercial provider, the FAA Instrument Procedures Handbook and the procedure design rules in ICAO Doc 8168 give it the same building blocks:
- the heading, identifying the aerodrome, the procedure title and runway, and the navigation and communication frequencies;
- the plan view, a map looking down on the approach track, fixes, holds and terrain;
- the profile view, a side-on picture of the descent;
- the minimums box, the altitudes and visibilities you may descend to;
- the missed approach, the escape route if you do not land.
Plan view and profile view
The plan view is the bird's-eye map. On it you find the initial approach fix (IAF) where the procedure begins, the final approach fix (FAF) where the final descent starts, any holds, and step-down fixes with their minimum crossing altitudes.
The profile view is the same approach seen from the side, and it is where the descent comes alive: the path down from the FAF, the glidepath angle (typically around 3 degrees), and the missed approach point (MAP), the spot at which, if you are not visual, you must go around. The FAA Instrument Flying Handbook shows how the two views describe the same path in plan and in elevation.
The minimums box
This is where you learn how low you may go. The key distinction is the type of approach:
- a precision approach (such as an ILS), with vertical guidance, gives a decision altitude or decision height (DA/DH): the point at which you must decide to continue to land or go around;
- a non-precision approach, without vertical guidance, gives a minimum descent altitude (MDA): a floor you may level at but not descend below until you can continue visually.
Each is paired with a required visibility, and both are read against the MSA circle that gives terrain clearance around the field.
A worked example
Brief an ILS to a runway in order. The heading confirms the airport, "ILS RWY 27", and the localiser and tower frequencies. The MSA circle shows, say, 2500 feet within 25 nautical miles, your terrain backstop.
In the plan view you pick up the approach track inbound to the localiser, the FAF marked on the final descent point, and a missed approach track that turns away from terrain. In the profile view you read a 3-degree glidepath down from the FAF to a DA of 550 feet, which on this chart, with the field at 350 feet, is 200 feet above the touchdown zone. The minimums box confirms the DA of 550 feet and a required visibility, with the figures for each aircraft category.
Now find the missed approach point (MAPt), and note that on a precision approach it is not a mark on the ground. ICAO Doc 8168 puts it where the glidepath crosses the DA/H, so it is a point in the air, short of the runway. Work it out for this approach: the glidepath crosses the threshold at the usual 50 feet, so from the DA there are 150 feet of height still to lose, and on a 3-degree path that is 150 / tan 3 degrees, about 2,900 feet, or roughly half a nautical mile, before the threshold. That is where the decision is made, and it is the reason the go-around has to be briefed before you get there.
Before you start down, you brief the missed approach off the chart: climb straight ahead to a stated altitude, then turn to a holding fix. Now, when you reach 550 feet and the runway is not in sight, the go-around is something you execute, not something you have to work out.
Common pitfalls
- Do not confuse DA with MDA. A decision altitude is a go or no-go point on a precision approach; a minimum descent altitude is a floor on a non-precision one, and you may not descend below it without the visual references.
- The missed approach point is not simply "the runway". It is easy to get this exactly backwards. On a precision approach the MAPt is where the glidepath meets your decision altitude (ICAO Doc 8168), which puts it in the air and short of the threshold. On a non-precision approach it is a published point, and on an RNAV or RNP procedure it is normally at or close to the threshold. Read yours off the chart rather than assuming.
- Brief the miss first. The worst time to read the missed approach is while flying it; set it before you descend.
In Pilot EFB
Pilot EFB is a study and planning companion for the kind of chart-reading an instrument rating demands, and it sits alongside your weather, NOTAMs and the rest of your briefing in one offline-first place. It does not replace your charts or your avionics, so fly the published procedure from your official source of record. Pilot EFB is not a certified Electronic Flight Bag, so treat it as a study and planning aid and brief from your official source of record.