Phraseology to clear an arriving aircraft for landing when the aircraft is not visually observed is which?

• A. Runway (number) Cleared to Land
• B. Land on Runway (number)
• C. Not in Sight, Runway (number) Cleared to Land
• D. Visual Contact Required, Cleared to Land

Answer: (C)

When you haven’t established visual contact with an arriving aircraft, you must flag that clearly before giving a landing clearance. Saying “Not in sight” communicates to the pilot that the controller cannot see the aircraft and is relying on instrument information and other guidance to manage the approach. Then you can still clear the runway for landing. The complete and proper phrase is: “Not in sight, Runway [number] Cleared to Land.” This combination ensures there’s no ambiguity: the pilot knows you don’t have them visually and that they’re cleared to land on that runway.

These other phrasings fail for that situation because they either omit the not-in-sight qualifier (which would imply you’ve seen the aircraft) or demand visual contact (which you do not have).