6/17/21
AIM
l.
Radar surveillance of holding pattern airspace
areas.
1.
Whenever aircraft are holding, ATC will
usually provide radar surveillance of the holding
airspace on the controller’s radar display.
2.
The controller will attempt to detect any
holding aircraft that stray outside the holding airspace
and will assist any detected aircraft to return to the
assigned airspace.
NOTE
−
Many factors could prevent ATC from providing this
additional service, such as workload, number of targets,
precipitation, ground clutter, and radar system capability.
These circumstances may make it unfeasible to maintain
radar identification of aircraft to detect aircraft straying
from the holding pattern. The provision of this service
depends entirely upon whether controllers believe they are
in a position to provide it and does not relieve a pilot of their
responsibility to adhere to an accepted ATC clearance.
3.
ATC is responsible for traffic and obstruction
separation when they have assigned holding that is
not associated with a published (charted) holding
pattern. Altitudes assigned will be at or above the
minimum vectoring or minimum IFR altitude.
4.
If an aircraft is established in a published
holding pattern at an assigned altitude above the
published minimum holding altitude and subsequent-
ly cleared for the approach, the pilot may descend to
the published minimum holding altitude. The holding
pattern would only be a segment of the IAP
if
it is
published on the instrument procedure chart and is
used in lieu of a procedure turn.
m.
For those holding patterns where there are no
published minimum holding altitudes, the pilot, upon
receiving an approach clearance, must maintain the
last assigned altitude until leaving the holding pattern
and established on the inbound course. Thereafter, the
published minimum altitude of the route segment
being flown will apply. It is expected that the pilot
will be assigned a holding altitude that will permit a
normal descent on the inbound course.
En Route Procedures
5
−
3
−
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