FAR Ninety-One Point One Thirteen, the Right-of-Way Hierarchy Most Pilots Misremember, and the Converging Scenario That Shows Up on Every Checkride

FAR 91.113 governs right-of-way in the National Airspace System, and it’s built on a single principle: the less maneuverable an aircraft, the higher its priority. Once that logic clicks, the entire hierarchy becomes something you can reason through rather than memorize. These rules also appear on every private pilot oral exam, often in the form of a scenario the examiner expects you to talk through out loud.

What is the foundation of all right-of-way rules?

Before any specific rule applies, FAR 91.113 establishes one bedrock responsibility: regardless of whether you’re flying IFR or VFR, when weather conditions permit, you are required to see and avoid other aircraft.

The right-of-way rules do not replace that responsibility. They define how to resolve a conflict when two pilots can already see each other. Having legal priority does not protect you if the other pilot hasn’t seen you or ignores the rule. That distinction matters every time you’re in the pattern.

What is the right-of-way priority hierarchy?

The ranking runs from least maneuverable to most maneuverable. At the top, yielding to nothing, is any aircraft in distress. An aircraft declaring an emergency has absolute priority.

Below that, in descending order of priority:

1. Balloons - no engine, no meaningful steering, essentially at the mercy of the wind
2. Gliders - no engine, operating on a finite energy budget, cannot add power to avoid traffic
3. Airships - powered but slow to respond and limited in maneuvering
4. Aircraft towing or refueling another aircraft in flight - physically connected to something, which severely limits maneuvering options
5. Weight-shift-control aircraft and powered parachutes - limited handling compared to conventional aircraft
6. Airplanes and rotorcraft - the most capable and therefore the lowest priority

As a private pilot in a Cessna 172, you sit at the bottom of that list. You yield to everything above you.

Understanding this hierarchy changes how you scan the airspace, not just how you answer exam questions. When you spot a glider being towed at a fly-in, you immediately know both aircraft outrank you and start building separation before any conflict develops.

Who has right of way when two aircraft are converging?

When two aircraft are approaching each other at roughly the same altitude on converging courses - and neither is overtaking - the aircraft to the other’s right has the right of way.

A practical way to remember it: if the other aircraft appears out your right window, you have priority. If it appears out your left window, you yield.

The required response is a course change, not just a reduction in speed. Slowing down without turning may delay the conflict rather than resolve it. Alter your track to definitively remove the geometry of the collision.

What do both pilots do in a head-on situation?

When two aircraft are flying directly toward each other and both pilots can see the conflict, both aircraft turn right.

Not one - both. This symmetry is intentional. If one turns right and one turns left, the outcome depends on angles and timing in a way that could make things worse. Both turning right produces a predictable, consistent divergence regardless of the specific geometry.

This is worth visualizing before it ever happens. Run the mental picture: two aircraft converging head-on, both turning right, each moving away from the other’s path. When it occurs in actual flight, the decision is already made.

What are the rules when one aircraft is overtaking another?

The aircraft being overtaken has the right of way. The overtaking aircraft must give way by altering course to the right - not simply slowing or climbing, but passing on the right side of the aircraft ahead.

The slower aircraft in front may not know it’s being overtaken. Rear visibility is limited in most general aviation aircraft, so the pilot who can see the conflict bears full responsibility for resolving it.

In cruise flight, this means passing to the right, holding the offset until completely clear, then returning to course. Don’t drift back across the overtaken aircraft’s track too early.

Who has right of way when two aircraft are both landing?

An aircraft on approach to land, or in the process of landing, has right of way over aircraft still in flight or on the ground.

When two aircraft are approaching to land at the same airport, the aircraft at the lower altitude has the right of way. But there’s a critical nuance the examiner will specifically probe: the lower aircraft cannot use that rule to cut in front of an aircraft already established on final approach.

Lower altitude equals priority - but not the right to insert ahead of established traffic.

Returning to the opening scenario: you’re on final and a lower aircraft is also turning final. That aircraft has priority. Your options are to extend your downwind, fly a 360, or plan a go-around. The correct verbal answer for an oral exam: “The lower aircraft has right of way. I’m going to extend my downwind and re-sequence behind them.”

The better practical answer is to never let that situation develop. Know where traffic is before turning base. If there’s any doubt, extend downwind a little longer. The conflict is far easier to manage at two miles out than at a half-mile final.

Does see-and-avoid still apply when the rules are on your side?

Yes - without exception. The regulations define who should yield. Physics determines what actually happens.

If the other pilot hasn’t seen you, ignores the rule, or simply makes a poor decision, your legal priority provides no protection. Your eyes and your awareness of where traffic actually is - and what it’s actually doing - are the variables that matter.

Legal priority and situational awareness are not the same thing. Never assume compliance from another aircraft. Verify it.

What right-of-way rules apply to water operations?

Aircraft operating on water, or taking off and landing on water, follow the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea in addition to FAA rules. For most pilots, this appears as a written test question. If you fly a floatplane or amphibian, it’s worth reading the full COLREGS.

How should you prepare this for a checkride?

The Private Pilot Airman Certification Standards cover right-of-way rules under the airspace section. Examiners present scenarios and expect you to reason through them - not just recite the answer, but explain why the rule exists and describe what you’d actually do in the airplane.

One effective study method: take a blank sheet of paper and write the priority hierarchy from memory, then write the four main conflict scenarios - converging, head-on, overtaking, and landing - with the rule and which aircraft maneuvers for each. Check your answers against the actual regulation. Where your recall got fuzzy is where you study.

Practice talking through scenarios out loud. Oral exams reward candidates who explain their thinking, not just candidates who arrive at the right answer.

Key Takeaways

• The right-of-way hierarchy is built on maneuverability: less maneuverable aircraft have higher priority, with aircraft in distress at the top and airplanes/rotorcraft at the bottom.
• Converging: yield to aircraft on your right and alter course - don’t just slow down. Head-on: both aircraft turn right. Overtaking: pass to the right of the slower aircraft.
• When two aircraft are landing, lower altitude wins - but the lower aircraft still cannot cut in front of traffic already established on final.
• See-and-avoid is the foundation under all of these rules. Legal priority does not protect you from a pilot who hasn’t seen you.
• Checkride preparation means practicing out loud, reasoning through scenarios, and knowing why each rule exists - not just the answer.