"Peter" wrote in message
...

"Steven P. McNicoll" wrote

FAR 91.175 (a) suggests nothing, it states, "Unless otherwise authorized
by
the Administrator, when an instrument letdown to a civil airport is
necessary, each person operating an aircraft, except a military aircraft
of
the United States, shall use a standard instrument approach procedure
prescribed for the airport in part 97 of this chapter."

Does that mean that, on an IFR flight, one is not allowed to descend
below the MOCA except on a published IAP?

Correct, provided that an instrument letdown is necessary (ie, you're in
IMC).

One could read 175 as saying that if an official IAP is provided, it
must be used.

Can you explain how it could be read that way? You're proposing an exception
to the stated requirement--an exception in the event that no SIAP exists.
But no such exception is stated in the rule itself (it doesn't say, for
instance, "shall use an SIAP, *if any*"). Unfortunately, we can't
legitimately construe a rule to include an exception that we just make up
ourselves.

--Gary