What is the minimum altitude to engage autopilot on a precision approach?

• A. 200 feet
• B. 400 feet
• C. 1000 feet
• D. 0 feet

Answer: (A)

Engaging autopilot on a precision approach is set so the flight guidance system can reliably couple to the ILS and follow the glide path from a point in the final segment where there is still a safe margin to monitor and intervene if needed. This lowest allowable engagement height gives you the benefits of automated path tracking early in the final approach while you still have enough altitude to manage a safe transition to manual control or a go-around if anything goes wrong. If you engaged higher than this limit, you’d delay the automation benefits and potentially increase workload late in the approach; if you attempted to engage at or very near touchdown, there wouldn’t be time to safely establish, verify, and respond. So the best answer reflects the system’s minimum capability to couple to the precision approach and maintain a stable, managed descent.