Continuous Descent Final Approach (CDFA)

A technique for flying the final approach segment of a nonprecision approach as one continuous, stabilized descent with no level-off, from at or above the final approach fix to about 50 feet above the runway threshold or the point where the flare begins. It replaces the "dive and drive" method, which can leave an aircraft in level flight as low as 250 feet above the ground in instrument conditions. Because the aircraft is still descending at the MDA, the missed approach is begun at an altitude above the MDA (sometimes called a derived decision altitude, DDA) so that the go-around never takes the aircraft below the MDA. The published vertical descent angle helps the pilot set up the constant descent.

Source: summarized from AC 120-108; AIM 5-4-5.

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Glossary last updated 2026-10-28.

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