"G. Sylvester" wrote:

Since the "MDA rule" only refers to MDA, and the MDA only exists on
the final segment, I think that if you were operating below an
altitude specified for some other segment, and had some kind of
problem as a result, a case could be made against you if there were
an enforcement action of some kind.

I'm 80% of the way through my IFR so I must be right. ;-)
From my understanding is that this is correct. Think about it
this way, if you were 30 miles out and you had the runway environment
in sight, a normal descent rate can be made and flight visibility was
met, can you descend below MEA/MDA? of course not. The MDA rule
is for after the FAF so you can land otherwise you can simply
choose your altitude at any point of the approach claiming all
3 items were met.

the other big thing people are missing is the approach is not only
to keep you safe but also the controller will expect you to be
along the published route. A controller can certainly vector a VFR or
IFR plane below you.....published minimum for one of the step downs is
say 3000 AGL giving enough clearance. If you are lower, something
bad could happen. This is similar to what happened to the actor (?)
a few weeks ago (If I recall correctly). In that case I believe
the actor misunderstood or incorrectly determined he was cleared
lower when he was not.

Gerald

The controller cannot vector someone below you unless they are at, or
above, the MVA. This was about a stepdown fix two miles from the runway.
30 miles out is an entirely different matter.