FAR Ninety-One Point One Thirteen, the Right-of-Way Hierarchy Students Memorize as a Chant and Never Apply as a Decision Tree, and the See-and-Avoid Responsibility That Survives Whoever Had the Right of Way

FAR 91.113 establishes a clear priority system for determining who maneuvers when two aircraft occupy the same piece of sky. The regulation covers everything from the category hierarchy students memorize to the converging, head-on, and overtaking rules that apply daily in the traffic pattern. Understanding the logic behind the rules - not just the order - is what separates a recitation from a decision.

What Does FAR 91.113 Actually Do?

The regulation has one job: give every pilot a clear answer to the question “who moves?” when a conflict develops. It does not guarantee the other pilot will comply. It does not authorize you to hold your track because the rules favor you. It creates a shared system for predictable behavior - and it places a continuous vigilance requirement underneath all of it.

Every other provision in 91.113 sits below one absolute override: an aircraft in distress has the right of way over every other aircraft, without exception. If someone is declaring an emergency, they own that airspace. You move.

What Is the Right-of-Way Category Hierarchy?

Below the distress rule, 91.113 establishes a category hierarchy based on maneuverability. The order, from highest priority to lowest:

1. Balloons
2. Gliders
3. Airships
4. Aircraft towing or being towed
5. Powered aircraft

The logic is consistent throughout: the aircraft with fewer options has the right of way. A balloon has no engine and virtually no lateral control - the pilot cannot command a turn, climb, or descent. A glider is committed to a descent path and cannot go around. An airship is slow and massive with limited maneuvering capability. A banner tow combination is long and ungainly; a quick turn carries serious consequences.

Powered aircraft sit at the bottom because they have the most options. If you are flying a powered airplane and you see a glider, you do not have the right of way - ever. It does not matter if you arrived at that airspace first. It does not matter if you are on a published instrument approach. The glider has fewer choices. You maneuver.

How Do the Converging Aircraft Rules Work?

When two aircraft are converging - flying toward a common point, neither head-on to the other - the aircraft on the other’s right has the right of way. The aircraft on the left gives way.

The geometry behind this rule matters. If traffic is approaching from your left at your ten o’clock, you are to their right. They can see you clearly. They are the ones expected to give way. If traffic is approaching from your right at your two o’clock, they have the right of way, and you maneuver.

The practical memory aid: if the traffic is on your right, they own it. You move. Left, climb, or descend - the direction is situational. The obligation is not.

Who Has the Right of Way on Final Approach?

This is where the scenario gets specific. An aircraft on final approach or already landed has the right of way over aircraft in flight. When two aircraft are simultaneously approaching the runway, the lower aircraft has the right of way - because it is closer to landing and has the least flexibility.

That provision carries a direct caution built into the regulation itself: it does not give the lower aircraft the right to cut in front of or overtake an aircraft already established on final.

So in a scenario where a Cessna 172 is converging from your left while you are on a two-mile final: under the converging rule, you are to their right, giving you the right of way. You are also lower, reinforcing it. But none of that changes what you are required to do if the Cessna is not giving way. Go around. The regulation does not protect you from physics.

What Does “See and Avoid” Actually Mean?

The see-and-avoid requirement is the foundation the entire regulation is built on. The language reads:

“When weather conditions permit, regardless of whether an operation is conducted under instrument or visual flight rules, vigilance shall be maintained by each person operating an aircraft so as to see and avoid other aircraft.”

This means right-of-way rules are a conflict resolution tool, not a liability shield. They tell pilots who is expected to maneuver when a conflict develops. They do not guarantee the other pilot will actually maneuver. A pilot who holds their track because the rules favor them - and collides - was technically correct and completely responsible for not avoiding the outcome.

The NTSB accident database includes cases where one pilot was legally in the right and had no role in determining the outcome, because the aircraft arrived at the same point simultaneously. Being correct does not make you safer. Situational awareness does.

How Does the Head-On Rule Work?

When two aircraft are meeting head-on, or approximately so, each shall alter course to the right. Both aircraft turn right simultaneously. There is no waiting to see if the other pilot moves first.

In practice at uncontrolled airports, a standard left-hand traffic pattern and a non-standard right-hand pattern on the same runway can produce a head-on situation on base or final. Both pilots believe they are flying the correct pattern. They converge. Both turn right - away from the runway centerline - and go around. Sort it out on the radio, then re-enter with spacing.

How Does the Overtaking Rule Apply in the Pattern?

The overtaking rule catches pilots off guard because it happens regularly whenever a faster aircraft catches a slower one on final. The rules are straightforward:

• The overtaken aircraft has the right of way.
• The overtaking aircraft passes to the right of the aircraft being overtaken.
• The overtaken aircraft retains its right-of-way position until the passing aircraft is completely clear ahead.

If you are in a Cherokee Six catching a Cessna 152 on final, the 152 has the right of way. Extend your downwind. Widen your base. Go around. You do not pressure the slower aircraft to hurry, and you do not squeeze in front of them on final.

This scenario plays out constantly at busy uncontrolled fields. Faster aircraft tighten their patterns, call short final while still a mile out, and close on traffic doing 65 knots with no idea a heavier aircraft doing 95 knots is behind them. If you are overtaking, the solution is your responsibility.

Checkride Scenarios: Applying the Rules as a Decision Tree

The oral exam and written test are looking for pilots who can work through scenarios from the logic, not from a memorized list. Here are four that test the hierarchy directly:

Scenario 1. A powered aircraft and a glider are converging at the same altitude. Who has the right of way? The glider. Category hierarchy places gliders above powered aircraft regardless of the converging geometry.

Scenario 2. Two powered aircraft are converging. Aircraft A is to Aircraft B’s right. Who has the right of way? Aircraft A. Aircraft B must maneuver.

Scenario 3. An aircraft is established on a long final to Runway 24. Another aircraft has just turned base-to-final and is also on final, but higher and farther out. The lower aircraft has the right of way. Neither pilot should be in this conflict to begin with, and the higher aircraft should not press down aggressively to land ahead.

Scenario 4. A balloon is drifting through an uncontrolled airport’s traffic pattern while you are on a normal approach. The balloon has the right of way. Always. You go around and give the balloon a wide berth. Waiting for the balloon to maneuver is not an option - it cannot maneuver on command.

The examiner wants to see the category hierarchy applied first, the converging rule applied second, and the see-and-avoid responsibility acknowledged as running underneath all of it.

Does Right-of-Way Change Under IFR?

The regulation specifies that the see-and-avoid requirement applies “when weather conditions permit.” In instrument meteorological conditions - flying in clouds - you cannot see other traffic. The responsibility for separation shifts primarily to air traffic control and the instrument procedures themselves. That is why IFR separation standards exist.

Flying VFR, even in a busy traffic pattern while managing a checklist, radio calls, and energy management, the see-and-avoid responsibility is fully on you. There is no partial credit. If you can see, you are responsible for what you see.

How to Execute See-and-Avoid in the Pattern

The Airman Certification Standards for the private pilot certificate requires demonstration of collision avoidance procedures and proper traffic pattern operations. Examiners are looking for a pilot whose head is moving and whose eyes are clearing turns.

• Scan continuously - not just ahead, but across the full traffic environment
• Clear before every turn - base-to-final is where conflicts concentrate
• Check your six before descending on final - know whether anyone is overtaking
• Maintain awareness from runup to taxi back - the pattern starts on the ground

These are the practical execution of FAR 91.113, not optional technique refinements.

Key Takeaways

• The category hierarchy - balloons, gliders, airships, tows, then powered aircraft - reflects maneuverability asymmetry, not arbitrary priority.
• In a converging situation between two powered aircraft, the aircraft on the right has the right of way; the aircraft on the left gives way.
• On final approach, the lower aircraft has the right of way - but cannot cut in front of an aircraft already established on final.
• Right-of-way rules tell you who is expected to maneuver; they do not guarantee compliance. If the other aircraft is not giving way, you go around regardless of who was correct.
• See-and-avoid is the foundational requirement that runs beneath every other provision in 91.113. Under VFR, it is fully your responsibility.