FAR Ninety-One Point One Thirteen, the Right-of-Way Hierarchy That Has Balloon Pilots Outranking You, and the Converging Traffic Call You Have to Make Before the Geometry Does It for You

FAR 91.113 is the Federal Aviation Regulation governing right-of-way in the air. It operates on two separate frameworks simultaneously: a ranked hierarchy of aircraft types based on maneuverability, and four specific rules that apply when two aircraft of the same category are converging. Understanding both - not just the headline rule - is what separates a pilot who knows the regulation from one who can actually apply it.

Why Does a Balloon Outrank Your Cessna?

The hierarchy in 91.113 is not arbitrary. It tracks directly with maneuverability, or more precisely, the lack of it.

Aircraft in distress sit at the absolute top. When any aircraft has declared an emergency, every other pilot yields immediately, without deliberation.

Below distress: free balloons. This surprises a lot of pilots. A hot air balloon has nearly zero horizontal maneuverability. The pilot controls vertical rate through heat and ballast, but lateral direction is entirely up to the wind. There are no rudder pedals that steer the envelope left or right. The balloon goes where the wind takes it, so the rule reflects that reality - if you are near a balloon, you move. The balloon cannot.

Gliders rank next. They can maneuver, but they depend entirely on rising air and careful energy management. A glider on final approach without an engine has committed to that approach. There is no go-around option if the math stops working out.

Airships follow - blimps and dirigibles, large and slow to respond. After them, aircraft towing or conducting parachute operations, because a towline creates performance and maneuverability constraints that a solo aircraft does not have.

At the very bottom: powered aircraft. Cessna 172, Piper Warrior, Beechcraft Bonanza, Cirrus SR22 - it does not matter what the panel looks like or how much horsepower is available. Powered aircraft yield to every category above them.

This hierarchy has practical consequences beyond the oral exam. Flying near a gliderport or in an area with balloon operations means the decision is already made for you. The powered airplane moves. Every time.

What Happens When Two Powered Aircraft Are Converging?

When both aircraft share the same category, the hierarchy does not resolve the conflict. 91.113 provides four specific rules based on geometry.

Rule 1 - Head-On: When two aircraft approach each other head-on, or nearly so, both pilots turn right. Not just one. Both. The expectation is symmetric, which means waiting to see what the other pilot does before committing burns time neither aircraft has. Two aircraft converging at a combined closing speed of 250 knots cover a nautical mile in roughly 14 seconds. The response has to already be practiced. Head-on means right turn, executed immediately.

The regulation does not define a precise angle for “nearly” head-on. The practical standard: if the other aircraft’s nose is generally pointed toward you and yours is generally pointed toward them, treat it as head-on and turn right.

Rule 2 - Converging: When two aircraft’s paths will intersect at an angle - neither head-on, neither overtaking - the aircraft on the right has right of way. The aircraft on the left yields.

One critical point that trips up pilots even after they know this rule: holding right of way does not protect you from a pilot who stopped scanning. The regulation explicitly prohibits operating so carelessly or recklessly as to create a collision hazard, regardless of who technically holds priority. If the yielding aircraft is not moving, you still maneuver to avoid a collision. Right of way determines who moves first between two attentive pilots. It does not prevent accidents when one of them has stopped looking out the window.

Rule 3 - Overtaking: The aircraft being overtaken has right of way. This is intuitive - the pilot ahead has no reason to expect someone closing in from behind. The overtaking pilot bears full responsibility for separation, and the specific requirement is to pass to the right of the aircraft being overtaken. Not above, not below, not through whatever gap looks open.

This rule applies in the traffic pattern more often than pilots expect. If you are flying a faster aircraft catching up to a slower airplane on a long downwind, your options are to slow down, extend your spacing, or execute a go-around and resequence. Squeezing past on the left or cutting inside on base is not an option.

Rule 4 - Landing: An aircraft on final approach or in the process of landing has right of way over aircraft in flight and aircraft on the surface.

When two aircraft are both converging on the same runway on final, the lower aircraft has right of way. The higher aircraft goes around - that is the correct answer, not a failure.

There is also a nuance about the landing rule that oral examiners specifically test: a pilot cannot use landing right of way to cut off an aircraft already established on final. Swooping in from outside the pattern and claiming priority over someone two miles established on final is not what the regulation protects. The intent is to protect established sequences, not reward aggressive maneuvering.

How Should You Prepare This for a Checkride Oral?

The Airman Certification Standards do not require verbatim recitation of the regulation. They require demonstrated understanding and the ability to apply it to a real scenario.

Examiners will construct multi-aircraft pattern situations and ask you to work through who goes first. The skill they are testing is calm, correct reasoning under pressure - which is different from knowing the answer quietly in your head. Practice saying it out loud before the checkride.

A reliable approach: trace the logic. Balloons at the top because they cannot maneuver. Distress at the very top because every second counts. Powered aircraft at the bottom because they have the most tools available to respond. When you understand the reasoning, the list sticks.

Does 91.113 Cover Water Operations or Formation Flight?

91.113 includes provisions for float and amphibious aircraft operating on the water surface. The rules mirror nautical right-of-way conventions for powered and unpowered vessels. Most pilots do not operate on water regularly, but the section exists - familiarize yourself with it before flying floats.

Formation flight falls under a separate regulation, FAR 91.111, but it connects directly to this topic. Flying in formation without a prior arrangement between both pilots in command is prohibited. Two aircraft operating independently in tight proximity, each assuming the other will maneuver, is exactly the kind of situation right-of-way rules are designed to prevent.

Why Does the Scan Matter as Much as the Rules?

91.113 assumes you can see the traffic. The hierarchy tells you who moves. The specific rules tell you how. None of it functions if you are not actively scanning.

See and avoid is not passive. It is a structured, deliberate scan: out the windscreen, left side, right side, above, below, and behind as best you can manage. Traffic that surprises pilots most often comes from below, climbing through your altitude, because the geometry closes faster than either pilot anticipates.

ADS-B, traffic calls from controllers, and ATIS all help, but they are not complete. Not every aircraft has a transponder. Not every aircraft is actively tracked. Not every controller has bandwidth to call every conflict. The regulation places the burden on the pilot for exactly this reason.

Know where your traffic is on every flight - not just in the busy moments near an airport, but at cruise altitude too. The sky looks empty until it does not.

Key Takeaways

• The 91.113 hierarchy - distress, balloons, gliders, airships, tow/parachute ops, powered aircraft - tracks directly with maneuverability. Powered aircraft yield to every category above them.
• Head-on encounters require both pilots to turn right simultaneously. At combined closing speeds of 250 knots, there is no time to wait and see what the other pilot does.
• Converging traffic: the aircraft on your right has right of way. But right of way does not eliminate your responsibility to avoid a collision if the other pilot stops scanning.
• Overtaking requires passing to the right of the aircraft ahead; the overtaken aircraft always holds right of way.
• On final, the lower aircraft has right of way. The higher aircraft goes around. Landing priority cannot be used to cut off a pilot already established on final.