Subscriber question:
"Can you fly an instrument approach procedure at one airport, and then land at a different airport?"
Martin:
“Yes, you can absolutely fly an instrument approach to one airport and then land at another airport. But why would you want to do that?
The typical use case is when your destination does not have an instrument approach, and the weather there is just marginal VFR – maybe good visibility, but a cloud layer with a ceiling which is below the minimum vectoring altitude to which ATC can authorize your descent. Somehow you need to legally and safely descend through that cloud layer into VFR conditions, and if the MEA, OROCA and MVA aren’t low enough to do that, then sometimes a nearby airport with an instrument approach can come to the rescue. When at some point while descending on the instrument approach you meet applicable VFR minimums, you can cancel IFR and head over to your actual destination airport under visual flight rules. You need to be able to remain in VFR conditions until you land there.
Is this safe, you ask? I wouldn’t do it without having flown that exact path before in better weather, so you know exactly what to expect in terms of terrain and obstacles. I also don’t suggest this method if the weather isn’t at least marginal VFR, or if my actual destination is many miles from where I fly the approach. Personally, I would also refrain from doing this at night. But in familiar airspace and under the right conditions, with whether which is not terrible but just a bit too low for a visual approach from the minimum vectoring altitude, this can be a safe and useful tool.”
