It's the Federal Aviation Regulation that establishes right-of-way rules for aircraft - defining who yields in converging, head-on, overtaking, and landing situations, and requiring every pilot to see and avoid other traffic regardless of who has the right of way.

In a converging situation, who has the right of way?

The aircraft to the other's right has the right of way. If traffic is off to your right and converging, you must yield by turning behind it - never over, under, or ahead of it unless well clear.

Which direction do I turn when meeting an aircraft head-on?

Both pilots turn to the right and pass left side to left side. No one has the right of way in a head-on situation, so it must be an automatic reflex: always right, never left.

If two aircraft are approaching to land, who has the right of way?

The lower aircraft has the right of way. However, you are forbidden from descending on purpose to cut in front of or overtake an aircraft that is already on final approach.

Does having the right of way mean I don't have to maneuver?

No. FAR 91.113(b) requires every pilot to maintain vigilance and see and avoid other aircraft regardless of who has the right of way. Having the right of way is never an excuse to stop looking or to fly into another aircraft.

Federal Aviation Regulation Ninety-One Point One Thirteen, the Right-of-Way Rules, and Who Actually Yields When Two Airplanes Are Pointed at the Same Piece of Sky

Under Federal Aviation Regulation 91.113, the aircraft that must yield depends on the situation: in a converging encounter, the aircraft to the other’s right has the right of way; head-on, both pilots turn right; when overtaking, the aircraft being overtaken has the right of way; and on approach to land, the lower aircraft has it. Above all of these sits one non-negotiable rule - every pilot must see and avoid other traffic regardless of who has the right of way.

What is the point of the right-of-way rules?

The right-of-way rules are not about who is allowed to hit whom. Nobody wins a midair. There is no board of inquiry that hands one pilot a ribbon because the other guy technically should have yielded.

The entire purpose of 91.113 is to make two airplanes behave predictably around each other. If you know what I’m going to do, and I know what you’re going to do, we don’t collide. That predictability is the safety feature - especially when we can’t talk to each other, which is often.

Does having the right of way mean the other pilot has to avoid me?

No. The very first substantive part of the regulation, paragraph (b), is about vigilance. It states that regardless of who has the right of way, each pilot must maintain vigilance so as to see and avoid other aircraft.

The right of way is not a force field. If you fly straight ahead thinking “he’s supposed to move” and you both arrive in the same cubic foot of sky, you were both wrong. The pilot who had the right of way ends up just as dead as the one who didn’t. See and avoid comes first, always. Everything else is what you do after you’ve spotted the traffic.

Who has the right of way when two aircraft are converging?

When two aircraft are converging at an angle - not head-on, not one chasing the other - the aircraft to the other’s right has the right of way.

Put simply: if the traffic is off to your right, he wins. He keeps going, and you give way. Think of it like a four-way stop in a car: the vehicle on the right goes first.

Your job is to yield by turning behind him. The regulation says the pilot who gives way must not pass over, under, or ahead of the other aircraft unless well clear. The word ahead is the killer. Do not try to beat him across the intersection. Turn behind his tail, where you can keep him in sight the whole time.

Actionable steps when traffic is converging from your right:

Keep the traffic in sight - do not look away to fuss with the radio.
Slow down, descend, or turn a few degrees to pass behind him.
Never cross in front. Cede the space and slot in behind his tail.

Which type of aircraft has the right of way over another?

The “traffic on your right” rule applies when both aircraft are the same type. When they aren’t, 91.113 stacks the deck in favor of whoever has the least ability to maneuver out of the way. The hierarchy, from most right of way to least:

Balloon - goes where the wind goes and can’t maneuver, so it has the right of way over almost everyone.
Glider - no engine and precious energy; yields to a balloon but has the right of way over powered aircraft.
Airship
Engine-driven aircraft (airplanes, helicopters) - at the bottom, because we have a throttle and can climb, descend, speed up, slow down, and maneuver.

The airplane, with the most options, is expected to be the one that moves. Two special cases sit above all of this:

An aircraft in distress has the right of way over all other traffic. Full stop.
An aircraft towing or refueling other aircraft has the right of way over the ordinary engine-driven crowd, because you can’t ask a glider tow plane or an air-to-air tanker to snap into a hard break.

For most of us, most days, in a Cessna, Piper, or Cirrus, the rule that matters is the simple one: traffic on your right has it, and you give way behind him.

Which way do you turn in a head-on situation?

Both pilots turn right. When two aircraft are approaching head-on or nearly so, each one alters course to the right, and you pass left side to left side - just like two cars on a road.

Nobody “has” the right of way in a head-on. It’s the one case where the rule doesn’t pick a winner, because there’s no time to figure one out. In two small trainers the closure rate can be 200 knots; in faster airplanes, much more. This has to be a reflex, not a decision.

Burn this in: traffic head-on, turn right - never left. If you turn left and he correctly turns right, you’ve just steered into each other.

Who has the right of way when overtaking another aircraft?

The aircraft being overtaken - the slower one in front - has the right of way, and it gets to keep doing exactly what it’s doing.

Why? Because the pilot ahead probably can’t see you. You’re coming from his blind spot, behind him where the fuselage, seat, and his own head block the view. The entire burden is on you, the overtaking aircraft, to alter course to the right and pass well clear.

Notice this is the same direction as head-on: to the right. The regulation leans right on purpose so everyone’s instinct pulls the same way. Move right, go around, and stay well clear - never cut across his nose to save time.

Who has the right of way when landing?

An aircraft on final approach to land, or actually landing, has the right of way over aircraft in flight or operating on the surface. If you’re on final and someone is waiting to pull onto the runway or maneuvering in the pattern, you have it - because you’re low, slow, configured, and may not have the energy to do anything else.

The wrinkle is what happens when two aircraft are both approaching to land. In that case, the lower aircraft has the right of way - the one closest to the runway.

But the regulation slams the door on abuse in the very same sentence: the pilot of the lower aircraft shall not take advantage of this rule to cut in front of, or to overtake, another aircraft on final approach. Being lower gives you the right of way. Making yourself lower on purpose to jump the line is against the reg - that’s the aggressive, me-first flying that fills accident reports.

How does 91.113 play out at a non-towered airport?

Picture a quiet non-towered field on a nice afternoon. You make your calls, enter the downwind, and someone is arriving from the other side aiming for the same runway. All four rules can show up in about ninety seconds, and see and avoid does the heavy lifting because there’s no tower to sort you out.

Scenario - a straight-in while you’re on downwind: He calls a straight-in final. Under the landing rule, an aircraft on final has the right of way. Whatever you think about straight-ins at a busy field, once he’s established on final the regulation gives it to him. Extend your downwind, slot in behind him, and announce your intentions on the radio so your move is predictable. Don’t turn base to beat him.

Scenario - converging on a cross-country: Traffic is converging from your two o’clock, off to your right, at your altitude. Traffic on your right has it. You don’t need to negotiate on the radio - ease down a couple hundred feet or turn a few degrees to pass behind him, and keep him in sight the whole way. Predictable and undramatic is exactly what the rule wants.

What does the examiner expect on the checkride?

The Airman Certification Standards (ACS) expect you to know this cold. Right of way isn’t trivia - it lives in the risk management and collision avoidance portions of the standard.

Your examiner wants to see you clearing your turns, scanning actively, and - the moment traffic appears - knowing instantly who is expected to move. If a target pops up off your right and you bore straight ahead, that’s not a paperwork issue. That’s a conversation about whether you’re safe to fly around other people.

Key Takeaways

Converging: the aircraft to your right has the right of way - turn behind it, never ahead of it.
Head-on: both pilots turn right and pass left-to-left. Never turn left.
Overtaking: the aircraft in front has the right of way; you pass to the right, well clear, because it can’t see you.
Landing: the lower aircraft has the right of way, but you may never make yourself lower to cut in front of or overtake traffic on final.
Above all: vigilance regardless of who has the right of way. The right of way is not permission to stop looking - the graveyard is full of pilots who technically had it.