what is reason behind using minimum vectoring altitude ?

1) Ice avoidance.

If you can descend below the clouds while above MVA, great.
If you'll still be in the clouds and getting ice at MVA, get on top.
If you can't get on top and MVA won't get you to the bases, better get on an ILS quick.

Very useful information for Skyhawk operations.

2) So you can't sue the FAA after hitting the mountain. If you were below MVA, you were responsible for your own terrain and collision avoidance.
 
What's the context of the question? All of the minimum IFR altitudes are so you won't hit anything. Is the question that simple or are you asking "what is reason behind using a lower minimum vectoring altitude instead of a higher MEA or MRA or MCA or M..."?
 
Minimum vectoring altitude is the lowest altitude a controller can assign while giving an aircraft radar vectors. Note the word "assign," as it does not mean that I can't vector you below the MVA; it just means I can't assign you to an altitude below the MVA and vector you. Thus, if you're VFR and below the MVA when you call a radar controller, the controller will gladly vector you because the altitude was not assigned.

Exceptions to the MVA rule include PAR and emergencies. In the case of the latter, we fall back on what we call an EOVM (Emergency Obstruction Vectoring Map) which displays altitudes 200 feet above known and mapped obstructions. Surveillance approaches are not exempted because the controller will not assign an altitude on such an approach. Instead, they will instruct the pilot to, "Descend to your minimum descent altitude," and if you ask for altitudes the controller will only "recommend" altitudes in increments of one nautical mile to a point that is above the lowest MDA for the approach.
 
Ooops. Forgot another exception. If you're on departure climb out at an altitude equal or higher than the highest obstruction in the MVA (must be depicted on the MVA map) climbing to an altitude at least 1,000 feet above the obstruction, then I can vector you into that MVA even though you're below the actual Minimum Vectoring Altitude.
 
RDoug said:
Minimum vectoring altitude is the lowest altitude a controller can assign while giving an aircraft radar vectors. Note the word "assign," as it does not mean that I can't vector you below the MVA; it just means I can't assign you to an altitude below the MVA and vector you. Thus, if you're VFR and below the MVA when you call a radar controller, the controller will gladly vector you because the altitude was not assigned.

Exceptions to the MVA rule include PAR and emergencies. In the case of the latter, we fall back on what we call an EOVM (Emergency Obstruction Vectoring Map) which displays altitudes 200 feet above known and mapped obstructions. Surveillance approaches are not exempted because the controller will not assign an altitude on such an approach. Instead, they will instruct the pilot to, "Descend to your minimum descent altitude," and if you ask for altitudes the controller will only "recommend" altitudes in increments of one nautical mile to a point that is above the lowest MDA for the approach.
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PARs and Surveillance Approaches you definitely are retired! (Although we did them all the time in the Marines and they still do them in certain places with regularity)
 
i dont think its so much as "safe" as much as it is a liability. There are a ton of things that come into play like radar coverage, radio contact, etc. there might be a mole hill out in the sticks, and that will raise the MVA.
 
boondr said:
PARs and Surveillance Approaches you definitely are retired! (Although we did them all the time in the Marines and they still do them in certain places with regularity)
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Actually, El Paso Approach still do ASRs into both El Paso Int'l and Biggs AAF. So, I'm not as retired as you may think. As for PARs, I did those when I was in the USAF at Davis-Monthan. They still have PAR there; the scopes are located in the Tucson TRACON, which is physically located on Davis-Monthan.
 
RDoug said:
Actually, El Paso Approach still do ASRs into both El Paso Int'l and Biggs AAF. So, I'm not as retired as you may think. As for PARs, I did those when I was in the USAF at Davis-Monthan. They still have PAR there; the scopes are located in the Tucson TRACON, which is physically located on Davis-Monthan.
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But their hours are lousy. Only on Wednesdays now, can one get a PAR. Have done numerous ASRs into ELP and BIF, as well as a number of PARs at DMA (as well as all over the place). There are some spot-on PAR controllers out there.....especially when I was doing them to near-mins, on a runway where there was no pilot-nav ability such as ILS.
 
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