Aircraft Approach Categories A–E: reference speeds compared
The Approach Category comes from the FAA reference approach speed: Category A is below 91 kt and Category E starts at 166 kt. On this site 117 types are A, 98 B, 109 C, 39 D and 1 E.
The reference speed is the figure the FAA uses for classification, taken at the aircraft’s maximum landing weight. It is an input to airport design standards, not a speed anyone flies by, and this site uses it only for that purpose. Table 1-1 of AC 150/5300-13B sets five bands:
| Category | Band | Types | Range here | Median |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Category A | under 91 kt | 117 | 39–90 kt | 70 kt |
| Category B | 91 to 120 kt | 98 | 91–121 kt | 105.5 kt |
| Category C | 121 to 140 kt | 109 | 121–140 kt | 130 kt |
| Category D | 141 to 165 kt | 39 | 141–160 kt | 145 kt |
| Category E | 166 kt and above | 1 | 192 kt | – |
The bands are not evenly filled. Category A is the piston and light-turboprop group, with a median reference speed of 70 kt. Category C, from 121 to 140 kt, is where most jets in the file fall (100 of the 176), from business jets to narrow-body airliners. Category D starts at 141 kt and holds 39 types, among them 19 of the 28 types in Design Groups V and VI. Category E has a single type in the file, the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle, so it has no page of its own.
Reference approach speeds cluster around 70 and 130 kt
Categories and Design Groups together
The advisory circular also writes the two codes as a pair, such as C-III. Crossing them on this site’s types gives the table below. The largest cell is A-I with 108 types; the second is C-III with 47. The two codes are independent: a Group I type can sit in Category D, as three do here, and a Group IV type can sit in Category B, as three do.
| Category | Group I | Group II | Group III | Group IV | Group V | Group VI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Category A | 108 | 8 | 1 | – | – | – |
| Category B | 34 | 41 | 20 | 3 | – | – |
| Category C | 16 | 25 | 47 | 12 | 8 | 1 |
| Category D | 3 | 3 | 9 | 5 | 15 | 4 |
| Category E | 1 | – | – | – | – | – |
Twelve types with two categories
For twelve types the FAA gives a minimum and a maximum reference speed that straddle a boundary. Eleven of them straddle the C/D line at 141 kt, among them the 737-800, the 737 MAX family and the 787-8 and -9. The other is the Beech 1900, listed in B and C. This site files each type under the category the FAA prints in its main column and shows both on the type page.
| Type | Categories | Reference speeds |
|---|---|---|
| Airbus A321 | C and D | 140–142 kt |
| Beech 1900 | B and C | 109–121 kt |
| Boeing 737 MAX 7 | C and D | 140–145 kt |
| Boeing 737 MAX 8 | C and D | 140–145 kt |
| Boeing 737 MAX 9 | C and D | 140–150 kt |
| Boeing 737-800 | C and D | 140–144 kt |
| Boeing 737-900 | C and D | 140–149 kt |
| Boeing 787-8 | C and D | 140–144 kt |
| Boeing 787-9 | C and D | 140–144 kt |
| Bombardier CRJ900 | C and D | 132–141 kt |
| Gulfstream IV | C and D | not given |
| McDonnell Douglas MD-90 | C and D | 138–141 kt |
Right on the edge
A category boundary is a single number, so some types sit right on it. In all, 13 types have a reference speed exactly on a category floor, such as the Airbus A318 at 121 kt, the first speed of Category C. Another 14 sit 1 kt or less below the next category; ten of those are at 140 kt, the last speed of Category C, including the Airbus A350-900 and the Boeing 777-200LR / 777F. The category pages list them in full.
The FAA marks three reference speeds in the file as estimates, and this site keeps them as published. The remaining caveat is the one that applies to all of these numbers: they describe the published figure for the sub-model the FAA chose for each ICAO designator, at maximum landing weight.
Category by engine type
The categories line up closely with engine type. Category A is 99 piston types, 17 turboprops and a single jet, the Cirrus Vision Jet SF50. Category B is the mixed band: 42 turboprops, 35 jets and 21 piston types. From Category C up the jets take over, with 100 of the 109 Category C types and all 39 in Category D. The lowest reference speed in the file belongs to the CZAW SportCruiser at 39 kt; the highest outside Category E is 160 kt, shared by the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon and Northrop T-38 Talon.
Within one Design Group the spread can be wide. The 77 Group III types split into 1 in Category A, 20 in B, 47 in C and 9 in D, so two types with nearly the same span can sit two categories apart.
The corners of the table are telling. Category D pairs its 19 Group V and VI types with three small, fast Group I jets, the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon, Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor and Northrop T-38 Talon. Category B, at the other end, reaches into Group IV with three types: the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III, Ilyushin Il-76 and Lockheed C-130 Hercules. Neither code can be guessed from the other.
Where to look next
Each category page plots every member by reference speed and Design Group. The overlay tool shows the category of any two types side by side, next to their dimensions.
Sources: FAA Aircraft Characteristics Database, October 2024 release (reference approach speeds, categories, remarks flags); FAA Advisory Circular 150/5300-13B, Tables 1-1 and 1-2. Counts and margins computed by this site.