Discontinued Operations - Additional Information (Detail) $ in Thousands, £ in Millions			3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Mar. 28, 2017 USD ($)	May 04, 2016 GBP (£)	Mar. 31, 2017 USD ($)	Apr. 01, 2016 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2017 USD ($)	Apr. 01, 2016 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2017 GBP (£)	Sep. 30, 2016 USD ($)
Income Statement Balance Sheet And Additional Disclosures By Disposal Groups Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Proceeds from sale of discontinued operations					$ 600	$ 0
Discontinued operation, note receivable								$ 6,681
Gain on sale of discontinued operation			$ 1,188		1,188	0
Loss from Discontinued Operations Attributable to Esterline, Net of Tax			(34)	$ (2,023)	(5,370)	(6,803)
Loss on net assets held for sale			$ 319	$ (1,055)	(4,409)	$ (3,572)
Wallop
Income Statement Balance Sheet And Additional Disclosures By Disposal Groups Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Proceeds from sale of discontinued operations | £		£ 2.5
Contingent consideration receivable term		3 years
Contingent consideration receivable period end date		May 03, 2019
Estimated contingent consideration receivable | £							£ 5.6
Loss on net assets held for sale					$ 4,300
Wallop | Maximum
Income Statement Balance Sheet And Additional Disclosures By Disposal Groups Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Contingent consideration, receivable | £		£ 9.0
Contingent consideration receivable acceptable orders multiplier percentage		31.00%
Wallop | Minimum
Income Statement Balance Sheet And Additional Disclosures By Disposal Groups Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Contingent consideration receivable acceptable orders multiplier percentage		26.50%
Small Manufacturing Business
Income Statement Balance Sheet And Additional Disclosures By Disposal Groups Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Proceeds from sale of discontinued operations	$ 600
Discontinued operation, note receivable	2,400
Gain on sale of discontinued operation	$ 1,200
Discontinued operation, note receivable due date	Mar. 28, 2021
Discontinued operation ,note receivable interest rate	2.05%