FAR ninety-one dot one thirteen and the right-of-way rules that decide who turns and who holds course

FAR 91.113 establishes a clear hierarchy for who yields to whom when aircraft are in conflict. The system is built on a single principle: the less maneuverable an aircraft is, the more right-of-way it receives. Once that logic clicks, the entire regulation falls into place — from the converging rule at untowered airports to the commonly misunderstood landing priority.

What Is the Right-of-Way Hierarchy?

The pecking order under FAR 91.113, from highest to lowest priority:

1. Aircraft in distress — everyone yields, no exceptions
2. Balloons — cannot steer laterally; they go where the wind goes
3. Gliders — no engine means no ability to add power and climb clear
4. Airships (dirigibles) — rarely encountered, but the examiner knows they’re in the reg
5. Aircraft towing or refueling — constrained and unable to maneuver aggressively
6. Powered fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters — the most maneuverable, so they yield to everything above

The thread connecting this list is vulnerability. A balloon pilot literally cannot get out of your way. A glider is always descending unless it finds lift. You, in a powered airplane, have the most options — so you give way.

What Happens When Two Powered Aircraft Converge?

This is the scenario that matters most in everyday general aviation, especially near untowered airports. When two aircraft are approaching at approximately the same altitude on converging courses, the aircraft on the right has the right-of-way. The aircraft on the left alters course.

Think of it like a four-way intersection with no stop sign. The car on the right goes first.

If you’re flying northeast and spot traffic off your right side flying northwest toward you at your altitude, that traffic has the right-of-way. You alter course to pass behind them. You do not speed up to beat them. You do not climb over them.

One critical subtlety: the pilot with the right-of-way must maintain heading and speed. This predictability is what allows the yielding pilot to maneuver safely. If both aircraft start turning, neither pilot can predict the other’s path, and that is how midair collisions happen.

How Do You Handle a Head-On Conflict?

When two aircraft approach each other nose to nose, both pilots alter course to the right. Both of you. You pass left to left, the same way two cars handle a narrow road with no center line.

The checkride trap here is answering with “I’d climb” or “I’d descend.” The published standard is that each pilot turns right. This rule also only works if you are actually looking outside. The regulation does not help you if you are staring at your kneeboard.

What Are the Rules for Overtaking?

If you are faster than the aircraft ahead of you and closing from behind, you are the overtaking aircraft and must give way by altering course to the right. The slower aircraft holds its course.

The regulation defines overtaking broadly: if you are approaching from more than 70 degrees behind the other aircraft’s course line, you are overtaking. That is a wide cone — essentially, if you are coming up from behind them at all, it qualifies.

Your instinct may be to pass on the left. The regulation says right.

Who Has Right-of-Way When Landing?

An aircraft on final approach or landing has the right-of-way over all other aircraft in flight or on the ground. When two aircraft are both approaching to land, the one at the lower altitude has priority.

But there is an important restriction: the lower aircraft cannot use this rule to cut in front of or overtake an aircraft already on final. This is the most commonly abused provision at busy untowered fields. A faster airplane swooping in below a Cessna on a half-mile final and claiming right-of-way because they were lower is not how the rule works. If another aircraft is established on final and you dive below them, you are the problem.

The regulation also prohibits landing when another aircraft is on the runway unless you have adequate separation. If there is any doubt, go around. The examiner is specifically looking for that decision.

What About Right-of-Way on the Ground?

Aircraft being taxied yield to aircraft taking off and landing. When two taxiing aircraft converge, the one on the right has the right-of-way — the same principle as in the air.

Does Right-of-Way Apply on IFR Flight Plans?

Yes. The first paragraph of FAR 91.113 states that these rules apply when weather conditions permit, regardless of whether the flight is under IFR or VFR. If you can see the traffic, the right-of-way rules apply to you. An IFR flight plan does not exempt you.

Does Having Right-of-Way Mean You Can Ignore the Other Aircraft?

No. The regulation explicitly states that nothing gives the right-of-way aircraft permission to disregard the need for caution. If a collision is imminent, you maneuver regardless of who technically has priority. Right-of-way is the rule of first resort. Collision avoidance is the rule of last resort — and last resort always wins.

Putting It All Together: A Pattern Scenario

You are entering the pattern on a forty-five to the downwind for runway 27 at an untowered field. A Piper is ahead of you on the downwind and you are closing because you are faster. A Bonanza is on a wide right base turning toward final. Someone announces a straight-in for 27, three miles out.

• The Piper is ahead of you — you are overtaking, so you yield
• The Bonanza on base and the Piper on downwind are converging — right-of-way goes to whoever reaches final first at a lower altitude, but nobody should be cutting in front
• The straight-in traffic is legal but least established in the pattern

There is no single clean answer. The regulation provides the framework. Judgment fills in the rest. The smart play in that scenario is almost always to extend your downwind, let the traffic sort out ahead of you, and land safely behind everyone.

What the Examiner Wants to Hear

On a checkride, the DPE is looking for five things from FAR 91.113:

• The hierarchy: distress, balloon, glider, airship, towing, then powered aircraft
• Converging: aircraft on the right goes first
• Head-on: both turn right
• Overtaking: pass to the right
• Landing: lower aircraft has right-of-way but cannot cut in front

More importantly, they want to know you understand this well enough to apply it in real time — at 110 knots, with someone converging on your right and the runway in sight.

Key Takeaways

• The right-of-way hierarchy is built on vulnerability — the less maneuverable the aircraft, the more priority it gets
• Converging traffic: the aircraft on your right has the right-of-way; yield by passing behind them
• Head-on conflicts: both pilots turn right, no exceptions
• Landing priority goes to the lower aircraft, but you cannot dive below someone on final to claim it
• Right-of-way never overrides the duty to avoid a collision — if it is going to be close, maneuver regardless of who has priority