FAR ninety-one dot one thirteen and the right-of-way rules that keep you from swapping paint at three thousand feet

FAR 91.113 establishes who has the right of way when aircraft operate in flight or on the ground. The regulation’s most important principle comes before any specific rule: even if you have the right of way, you are never relieved of the responsibility to take all possible action to avoid a collision, including giving way. The right-of-way hierarchy prioritizes less maneuverable aircraft, and the converging traffic rule — yield to the aircraft on your right — governs most in-flight encounters between powered aircraft.

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

The regulation establishes a clear pecking order based on maneuverability. The less control you have over where you’re going, the more right of way you get.

1. Aircraft in distress — tops the list, no exceptions. If someone has declared an emergency, everybody gives way.
2. Balloons — a balloon pilot cannot turn, climb on demand, or descend on demand. They go where the wind takes them.
3. Gliders — no engine (or engine shut down), meaning limited ability to maneuver away from traffic.
4. Airships — more maneuverable than gliders but still limited compared to powered aircraft.
5. Airplanes, helicopters, and other powered aircraft — bottom of the hierarchy.

Who Has the Right of Way When Two Aircraft Converge?

When two aircraft of the same category are at the same altitude on converging headings, the rule is straightforward: the aircraft to the other’s right has the right of way.

In practical terms: if you see traffic off your right side, that traffic has the right of way and you must alter course. If the traffic is to your left, you hold course and altitude.

The easiest way to remember this: it works like yielding to the right at an intersection while driving in the United States. The airplane on your right keeps going. You turn.

But having the right of way does not mean sitting idle. If the other aircraft isn’t turning, start making plans. Being legally correct provides no comfort in a midair.

What Do You Do in a Head-On Encounter?

When two aircraft approach each other head-on or approximately head-on, both aircraft alter course to the right. This creates a left-side-to-left-side pass, just like cars on a highway. Neither aircraft has the right of way — both share the responsibility equally.

A critical real-world note: head-on situations almost never look perfectly head-on. There’s usually a slight offset, and your brain wants to reclassify it as converging traffic. When in doubt, treat it as head-on and turn right. No one gets a violation for being extra cautious.

How Does Overtaking Work in the Air?

If you are overtaking another aircraft — approaching from behind — you do not have the right of way. The aircraft being overtaken holds priority, and the overtaking aircraft must alter course to the right to pass.

Why right and not left? Because of the converging traffic rule. Passing on the left creates a conflict if the aircraft ahead turns left. Passing on the right keeps the geometry predictable.

An overtaking situation is specifically defined as approaching from behind within 70 degrees of the other aircraft’s tail — meaning within 35 degrees of either side. Beyond that angle, it’s a converging situation, and different rules apply. This is a common checkride question.

What Are the Right-of-Way Rules for Landing?

Aircraft on final approach or landing have the right of way over other aircraft in flight or on the surface. However, you cannot use this rule to cut in front of someone already on final.

When two or more aircraft approach an airport to land, the aircraft at the lower altitude has the right of way — but that lower aircraft cannot cut in front of or overtake the aircraft ahead in the sequence.

One absolute rule: an aircraft already on the runway has priority. You cannot land on an occupied runway regardless of any other right-of-way consideration.

How Do Right-of-Way Rules Apply in the Traffic Pattern?

Consider a common scenario at an uncontrolled airport: you’re on a standard left downwind for runway 27 and notice an aircraft converging from your right on a nonstandard right base, at your altitude, not talking on the radio.

Under the converging rule, that aircraft is to your right and has the right of way. Under the landing rule, the lower aircraft has priority. The geometry is ambiguous.

The correct answer: the overriding duty is to avoid the collision. Extend your downwind. Let the other aircraft land. Sort out who was technically right on the ground afterward. At 300 feet AGL with two airplanes pointed at the same runway, the specific rule matters less than the foundational principle of see and avoid.

Do Right-of-Way Rules Apply on the Ground?

Yes. FAR 91.113 applies to surface operations as well. When two aircraft converge while taxiing, the same principles hold — the aircraft to your right has the right of way, and the first duty remains collision avoidance.

At a busy non-towered field with ground confusion, the right answer is always: stop, communicate, and let the other aircraft go. There is no benefit to winning a taxiway dispute.

Pre-Flight Right-of-Way Checklist

Before every flight, consider three questions:

1. Am I likely to encounter converging traffic? Near airports, practice areas, and common VFR routes demand aggressive scanning and right-of-way awareness.
2. Do I know the hierarchy? Emergency, balloons, gliders, airships, then powered aircraft. Within the same category, apply converging, head-on, and overtaking rules.
3. Am I willing to give way even when I have the right of way? That willingness separates knowing the regulation from actually flying safely.

Key Takeaways

• FAR 91.113’s most important provision is that right of way never relieves you of the duty to avoid a collision
• Yield to the right: when two aircraft converge, the one to your right has the right of way
• Head-on encounters: both aircraft turn right, no exceptions — when in doubt, treat it as head-on
• Overtaking: pass to the right; the aircraft being overtaken has the right of way
• The hierarchy from most to least priority: distress, balloons, gliders, airships, powered aircraft