ground-controlled approach

or ground-con·trol approach

[ ground-kuhn-trohld ]

noun

, Aeronautics.

1. a system in which an observer interprets radar observations of the position of an aircraft and transmits continuous instructions to its pilot for landing. : GCA

Word History and Origins

Origin of ground-controlled approach¹

First recorded in 1940–45

Example Sentences

One hope of betterment lay in the fact that "ground-controlled approach," in which radar is used to guide a pilot on to a field he cannot see, was being installed at New York, Chicago and Washington airports.

From Time Magazine Archive