Federal Aviation Regulation Ninety-One Point One Thirteen, See and Avoid, and the Right-of-Way Ladder That Every Pilot Flies Under Whether They Know the Number or Not

Federal Aviation Regulation 91.113 establishes the see-and-avoid mandate and a six-tier priority hierarchy that governs every aircraft encounter in visual conditions. The regulation places collision avoidance responsibility squarely on the pilot in command - not ATC, not a traffic display - and specifies exactly who yields to whom based on aircraft capability, not status. Most pilots know fragments of this rule; few can recite the complete priority ladder or explain the geometry rules for converging, head-on, and overtaking encounters.

What does FAR 91.113 actually require?

The regulation opens with a foundational sentence: when weather conditions permit, regardless of whether an operation is conducted under instrument flight rules or visual flight rules, vigilance shall be maintained by each person operating an aircraft so as to see and avoid other aircraft.

See and avoid. Two words that assign full responsibility for collision avoidance to the pilot in command. Not the controller. Not the traffic advisory system. The person looking out the window.

See and avoid only works as a system when both pilots know what to do with what they see. That is where the priority hierarchy comes in - a specific order of who yields to whom, structured around what each aircraft type is actually capable of doing.

What is the right-of-way priority ladder?

The ladder runs from most protected to least protected, and the organizing principle is capability, not status. The aircraft that can maneuver most easily is expected to move. The aircraft with the fewest options gets protected first.

1. Aircraft in distress. An aircraft that has declared an emergency has right-of-way over everything else in the sky. No exceptions. If someone is declaring Mayday, clear the area.

2. Balloons. A free balloon has essentially zero lateral maneuverability. The pilot can manage altitude through heat and ballast, but lateral movement is dictated by the wind. The regulation places balloons near the top precisely because of what they cannot do - everyone else can maneuver around them; the balloon largely cannot maneuver around anyone.

3. Gliders. A glider has no engine. Once committed to a glide path or final approach, it does not have the energy reserves to climb away from a conflict the way a powered airplane does. A glider is always solving an energy management equation, and that equation cannot be interrupted without consequences.

4. Airships. Blimps and dirigibles are large, slow, and have limited maneuverability compared to a fixed-wing airplane. They yield to balloons and gliders; powered aircraft yield to them.

5. Aircraft towing or refueling other aircraft. This one surprises most students. A tow operation is a train: a tug aircraft up front, two hundred to three hundred feet of cable (sometimes more) behind it, and a glider or banner at the end. The tow pilot has reduced performance, limited climb rate, and cannot maneuver sharply without losing the tow. When you encounter a tow operation, you are giving clearance to the entire train - including what is trailing behind the visible airplane.

6. Powered aircraft. Cessnas, Pipers, Diamonds, Cirrus aircraft. We have engines, energy reserves, and options. When we encounter any aircraft higher on that ladder, we move.

Who has right-of-way in a converging situation?

When two aircraft of the same category are converging at approximately the same altitude, except head-on, the aircraft that has the other on its right shall give way. This means the aircraft to the right has the right-of-way.

If traffic is converging from your right, you yield. If traffic is converging from your left, they yield to you. The practical reality is that you cannot wait to see whether the rules will be followed - assess the situation early and act.

The converging rule applies when both aircraft are the same category. When they are different categories, you return to the hierarchy. A Cessna 172 converging with a glider: the Cessna moves, regardless of which side the glider is on. Powered aircraft yield to gliders. Period.

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

When two aircraft are approaching approximately head-on at the same altitude, neither has the right-of-way. The regulation requires both aircraft to alter course to the right.

Both. Turn. Right. This creates the maximum lateral separation and mirrors the same instinct that works on a two-lane road when someone crosses the centerline.

The word “approximately” matters here. Determining whether a situation is truly head-on involves judgment. The conservative call when uncertain: treat it as head-on and turn right. A converging encounter misidentified as head-on costs you some separation. A head-on encounter misidentified as converging can cost you everything.

Who yields when overtaking another aircraft?

The overtaking aircraft alters course to the right and passes to the right side of the aircraft being overtaken.

This serves two purposes. First, it moves the faster aircraft into the peripheral vision of the slower aircraft ahead, at least giving that pilot a chance to see the pass. Second, it is predictable. Two strangers in separate aircraft can share the same piece of sky without ever talking to each other, as long as both are following the same playbook. Predictability is the entire point of having rules.

What are the right-of-way rules for landing?

An aircraft on final approach or in the act of landing has right-of-way over aircraft in flight, aircraft landing, and aircraft on the ground. If you are established on final, traffic not yet on final yields to you.

When two aircraft are both approaching to land, the one at the lower altitude has the right-of-way - but the regulation adds a critical restriction: you may not take advantage of this rule to cut in front of an aircraft already established on final, or to overtake that aircraft.

The lower altitude rule is a tie-breaker, not a weapon. It applies when two aircraft arrive at the approach situation simultaneously and you need a way to sequence them. It does not authorize swooping in below someone already on final and claiming priority.

Does having the right-of-way mean you don’t have to maneuver?

No. The regulation is explicit: the right-of-way rules do not relieve a pilot who has the right-of-way of the responsibility of taking whatever action is best calculated to avert a collision.

Being technically correct in a mid-air collision is not a useful outcome. If you can see the conflict developing, you act - regardless of who should be yielding.

NTSB accident reports on mid-air collisions document this pattern repeatedly: pilots who had the legal right-of-way and relied on that protection rather than taking early evasive action. The rule tells you who should move first. It does not guarantee that they will.

The regulation also adds a final line that does not get enough attention: no person may operate an aircraft so close to another aircraft as to create a collision hazard. Even when legally in the right, you cannot operate in a way that creates a hazard. The sky is shared space.

Does an ATC clearance satisfy your see-and-avoid responsibility?

No. In Class Bravo, Charlie, and Delta airspace, ATC provides a service and may issue traffic advisories or sequencing instructions. But an ATC clearance does not cancel your obligation to see and avoid.

A clearance to land does not mean the pattern is empty. A sequence instruction does not mean the airspace between you and the runway is sterile. Controllers are managing a radar picture that may not include every aircraft - particularly VFR traffic in the pattern that has not yet been radar-identified.

Your job, every time, is to look out the window and verify that what ATC is telling you is consistent with what you actually see.

What does a checkride examiner look for with FAR 91.113?

The Airman Certification Standards for the private pilot certificate are specific here. The examiner is watching whether you scan effectively for traffic, apply right-of-way rules correctly when traffic appears, and sequence yourself appropriately at non-towered airports.

Knowing the rules verbally is table stakes. Demonstrating that you apply them - consistently, while also flying the airplane, managing the radio, and handling the descent - is what the examiner is actually evaluating.

How do you actually scan for traffic?

The scan matters as much as the rule. Right-of-way principles cannot be applied to traffic you have not spotted.

The FAA recommends a systematic scanning technique: move your eyes in short, regular intervals across different segments of the windshield and side windows, pausing briefly at each sector to allow your eyes to focus. The eyes do not detect motion well in peripheral vision during continuous movement. You have to stop, look, then move to the next sector.

High-wing and low-wing aircraft create blind spots in different locations. Turns create blind spots as well. Before turning in the pattern, look in the direction of the turn. Before descending on final, scan for traffic on a straight-in.

The FAA’s Aeronautical Information Manual has a dedicated section on mid-air collision avoidance covering scanning technique and traffic pattern operations in depth. The Airplane Flying Handbook covers it as well. Both are worth reading not for the knowledge test, but because the material in them directly affects whether you come home.

Key Takeaways

• FAR 91.113 places see-and-avoid responsibility on the pilot in command - not ATC, not a traffic display
• The six-tier priority ladder runs: distress → balloons → gliders → airships → tow/refueling aircraft → powered aircraft; the logic is capability, not status
• In a converging encounter, the aircraft with the other on its right gives way; head-on means both turn right; overtaking means pass to the right
• The lower-altitude rule for landing is a tie-breaker, not a weapon to cut in on an established final
• Having the right-of-way does not relieve you of the responsibility to take action to avert a collision