NBAA Advocacy Leads to Upgrades of FAA Takeoff Minimums and Obstacle Departure Procedures

Aug. 5, 2026

The FAA, working with its industry partners through the U.S. Instrument Flight Procedure Panel, is revising the presentation of the “Takeoff Minimums and Obstacle Departure Procedure” in the FAA’s Terminal Procedures Publication and in charts provided by commercial charting providers such as Jeppesen and Garmin.

While this transition will take several years to complete, it will offer pilots additional options and clarity when taking off under IFR.

The changes to the “TAKEOFF MINIMUMS” section provide a new option for pilots to use standard takeoff minimums in lieu of a higher climb gradient based on a minimum departure end of runway (DER) crossing height.

“Takeoff Minimums Obstacles” are now listed separately. These are obstacles that must be visually avoided when taking off under IFR in lieu of complying with the published climb gradient.

A new entry for “Low, Close-in Obstacles” identifies those obstacles requiring a higher than standard climb gradient, but to a height of 200’ or less above DER elevation. These obstacles are no longer listed individually but are now consolidated and grouped into distances of ¼ mile increments from the DER and described in their position relative to the runway centerline.

This allows the pilot to determine if the reported weather conditions at takeoff are adequate to see and avoid these obstacles if aircraft performance does not permit the aircraft to climb over them. A DER crossing altitude is also included that allows the standard 200 ft/NM climb gradient to clear these low, close-in obstacles.

When departing under IFR, pilots should evaluate each entry for the departure runway, accounting for the requirements in each section necessary to avoid obstacles. They should select the option(s) that best conforms to the aircraft performance available for the IFR takeoff.

View an example of the new TPP format.

View the prior entry for comparison.

For additional information, see AIM Section 5-2-9.

This change caps an effort initiated in 2015 by NBAA at the FAA’s Aeronautical Charting Meeting to address the complexity of takeoff obstacles notes.