FAR 91.113 and the Right-of-Way Rules: The Hierarchy Every Pilot Has to Know Before Entering the Pattern

FAR 91.113 establishes a clear hierarchy of right-of-way that every certificated pilot must understand and apply before entering shared airspace. The regulation covers converging, head-on, and overtaking encounters, plus specific priority rules for landing aircraft - and critically, it does not exempt any pilot from the responsibility to see and avoid other aircraft regardless of where they sit in that hierarchy.

Why Do Right-of-Way Rules Exist in Aviation?

Aviation involves shared airspace with no lanes, no traffic lights, and no guaranteed separation. Even with radar and radio contact, two aircraft can converge with only seconds to react. ATC cannot track everyone, and radio calls do not always get heard.

The right-of-way rules function as a choreography system. When two pilots encounter each other, the regulation tells each of them exactly what to do without requiring negotiation. That clarity is what makes these rules safety-critical rather than merely procedural.

What Is the Right-of-Way Hierarchy Under FAR 91.113?

The regulation establishes a priority order based on maneuverability - specifically, which aircraft type has the least ability to maneuver out of conflict. From highest to lowest priority:

1. Aircraft in distress - Any aircraft declaring Mayday or otherwise in a dangerous situation has right of way over all other aircraft.
2. Free balloons - Balloons go where the wind takes them. They cannot turn, climb quickly, or alter their ground track. Every other aircraft must yield.
3. Gliders - A glider manages a finite energy budget and cannot go around if it surrenders altitude unnecessarily. Gliders have priority over airships, powered parachutes, weight-shift aircraft, and powered aircraft.
4. Airships - Blimps and dirigibles have right of way over powered parachutes, weight-shift aircraft, and standard powered aircraft.
5. Aircraft towing or refueling other aircraft - A tow plane hauling a glider has reduced maneuverability, cannot make sudden control inputs without putting the glider in a dangerous position, and cannot easily abort the operation. Other traffic yields.
6. All other powered aircraft - governed by the converging, head-on, and overtaking rules below.

This hierarchy matters most when encountering non-standard traffic. The rules most pilots invoke in day-to-day flying involve two powered aircraft encountering each other.

How Do Converging Aircraft Determine Who Yields?

When two aircraft approach each other at approximately the same altitude and neither is on final approach, the aircraft on the left yields to the aircraft on its right. Read that carefully - the aircraft on the left is the one that acts. Students consistently mix this up.

If you’re flying east and another pilot is flying south on a converging path, and they’re on your right, you yield. You turn, climb, or slow - whatever creates separation. They maintain course.

One critical exception applies: category priority overrides the converging rule. If a glider is approaching from your left and you’re in a powered aircraft, you still yield to the glider. The hierarchy always takes precedence.

What Happens in a Head-On Approach?

When two aircraft are approaching head-on - or approximately so - with a risk of collision, both aircraft alter course to the right. Both pilots turn right simultaneously. This mirrors road traffic conventions and creates a universal, unambiguous response.

The key phrase is “approximately head-on.” If there’s any doubt whether the situation is truly head-on or merely converging, treat it as head-on and move right.

Who Has the Right of Way When Overtaking Another Aircraft?

When you’re overtaking another aircraft - coming up from behind at a relative bearing no more than 30 degrees above or below the aircraft you’re passing - the overtaken aircraft has the right of way. You pass to the right and remain clear.

Speed, size, and maneuverability are irrelevant. If you approached from behind, you pass to the right. This applies on departure if you’re climbing faster than a slower aircraft that took off just ahead of you - you came up from behind, so you pass to the right regardless of the rate at which you’re climbing away from them.

How Do Right-of-Way Rules Apply to Landing Aircraft?

An aircraft on final approach to land has the right of way over aircraft in flight and over aircraft on the surface. When two or more aircraft are approaching an airport to land, the lower aircraft has priority.

There is a critical limitation: the lower aircraft may not use that altitude advantage to cut in front of or overtake an aircraft already established on final. Deliberately descending below an aircraft already committed to the approach and then claiming right of way is not permitted. “I’m lower” is only valid when you arrived at that altitude through the normal flow of the pattern - not as a tactic to jump ahead of someone already on final.

Does Having Right of Way Mean You Don’t Have to Maneuver?

No. FAR 91.113 explicitly states that right of way does not relieve the pilot in command of the responsibility to see and avoid other aircraft. Right of way assigns who yields. It does not assign who crashes.

Even when you hold priority, you are expected to take action if a genuine collision risk exists. Accident reports document pilots who knew they had the right of way, held their course to prove it, and flew into other aircraft. That logic has ended aviation careers. See and avoid is non-negotiable regardless of where you sit in the hierarchy.

How Do These Rules Apply in the Pattern at an Uncontrolled Airport?

The traffic pattern is where FAR 91.113 does the most practical work for most pilots. Several scenarios come up regularly:

You’re turning base; another aircraft calls a two-mile final. The aircraft on final is lower and established on approach. They have right of way. You extend your downwind.

Two aircraft call final simultaneously. The lower one has priority - provided they didn’t cut someone off to get there. CTAF calls, visual scanning, and situational awareness are the primary coordination tools at an uncontrolled field. The right-of-way rules are the backstop for when coordination breaks down.

You’re flying cross-country and transition near a glider port. Gliders have right of way over your powered aircraft. They may be thermaling and climbing. They cannot accelerate away from your flight path. Look for them, give them room, and do not count on them to move.

You encounter a tow plane on departure with a glider in tow. The combination is slower, climbs at a shallow angle, and cannot make sudden maneuvers. Any sharp input by the tow pilot puts the glider at the end of the rope in a dangerous position. They have priority. Give them plenty of room and communicate clearly.

Two powered aircraft converging at an intersection. What matters is relative position, not the direction you’re pointed. If the other aircraft is on your right, you yield - even if you’re going straight and they appear to be turning into your path. The regulation doesn’t consider which way you’re pointed. It considers where traffic is relative to you.

What Are Checkride Examiners Looking for on This Topic?

The Airman Certification Standards require demonstrated understanding and application of the right-of-way rules. Knowing the hierarchy is the baseline - examiners are watching for something more.

Examiners observe how a pilot handles traffic from the moment the pattern area is entered. Did you spot the aircraft that just turned crosswind? Did you call your position clearly? Did you adjust your spacing without being prompted? Correct scanning, appropriate response to traffic calls, and sound spacing decisions all reflect internalized understanding of FAR 91.113 - even if the examiner never cites the regulation by name.

How Does FAR 91.113 Connect to Other Regulations?

FAR 91.113 does not operate alone. It works alongside FAR 91.111, which prohibits operating so close to another aircraft that it creates a collision hazard. It works alongside the broader see-and-avoid framework governing all VFR operations.

The regulation also contains provisions for simulated instrument flight. When a pilot is logging simulated instrument time under the hood in visual conditions, the safety pilot carries the see-and-avoid responsibility - a detail that matters any time you’re logging hood time with an appropriately rated pilot alongside.

Reading the regulation in full - 14 CFR § 91.113, Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations - is more useful than relying on test-prep highlights. The full text contains nuance that written exam review routinely omits.

Key Takeaways

• The hierarchy, top to bottom: distress → free balloons → gliders → airships → towing/refueling aircraft → all other powered aircraft
• In a converging encounter, the aircraft on the left yields to the aircraft on the right - category priority overrides this when a balloon, glider, or airship is involved
• In a head-on approach, both aircraft turn right
• When overtaking, pass to the right and stay clear - the overtaken aircraft holds priority
• In the pattern, the lower aircraft on final has priority, but cannot use altitude to cut off an aircraft already established on final
• Right of way is not a shield - see and avoid applies to every pilot regardless of priority position