Ninety-One One Thirteen, the Right-of-Way Rules, and Who Yields to Whom When Two Airplanes Want the Same Piece of Sky

Under Federal Aviation Regulation 91.113, the aircraft with the least ability to maneuver has the right of way, and every pilot must avoid a collision regardless of who technically has it. In a same-altitude converging situation, the aircraft on the right has the right of way and the other pilot yields by passing behind. But the single most important rule sits above all others: you must always operate to avoid a collision, even when you are legally in the right.

What Does FAR 91.113 Actually Say?

FAR 91.113 is the “rules of the road” for the sky - it establishes who is expected to give way when two aircraft want the same piece of airspace.

The most important line comes right at the top: regardless of who has the right of way, each pilot must operate their aircraft so as to avoid a collision, and vigilance shall be maintained.

That phrase - regardless of who has the right of way - is the foundation. Even when you are dead right and the other pilot is dead wrong, if you see a collision developing, you move. The rules tell us who is expected to yield in a normal encounter. They never give anyone permission to stop looking out the window.

Having the right of way is not a force field. It does not stop metal from meeting metal.

Which Aircraft Has the Right of Way Over Others?

The regulation is essentially a hierarchy built on one question: who is least able to get out of the way? The aircraft with the least maneuverability wins. The one with the most maneuverability is expected to move.

From the top down:

• Aircraft in distress - An airplane declaring an emergency has the right of way over all other traffic. Someone is having the worst day of their flying life; everyone else gets out of the way.
• Balloons - A balloon goes where the wind goes. It can climb and descend but cannot turn to avoid you, so it sits highest among normal traffic.
• Gliders - No engine. A glider is trading altitude for distance and can’t add power to climb away from a problem. It yields to balloons but beats everything below.
• Airships - Blimps and dirigibles. More maneuverable than a glider, less than an airplane.
• Powered aircraft and rotorcraft - That’s most of us. We have engines and full control of our flight path, so the rules ask us to do the yielding.

A clean way to remember the order from the top: balloons, gliders, airships, then powered aircraft. The balloon can barely steer, so it goes first. The airplane can do anything, so it yields to the specialty traffic.

One key exception: an aircraft towing or refueling other aircraft has the right of way over all other engine-driven aircraft. A tow plane dragging a glider on a 200-foot rope, or a tanker with a receiver plugged in behind it, cannot make a hard turn. Same principle - least able to maneuver gets the right of way.

How Do I Handle a Head-On Encounter?

When two aircraft are approaching each other head-on or nearly head-on, each aircraft shall alter course to the right. You go right, he goes right, and you pass left side to left side.

This confuses students who worry the turn will steer them into each other. It won’t. Picture two cars meeting on a two-lane country road: if you both steer to your own right, you each move to your own side and slide safely past. Same in the air.

The mistake that kills is hesitating - or turning left hoping the other pilot turns right. Turn right. Every time. Make it a reflex.

What Do I Do When Aircraft Are Converging?

Converging traffic is approaching from an angle - not head-on, not from directly behind. The rule: when two aircraft are converging at approximately the same altitude, the aircraft to the other’s right has the right of way.

If another airplane is off to your right and closing on your flight path, it has the right of way and you yield. How you yield matters. The regulation says the pilot giving way shall not pass over, under, or ahead of the other aircraft. You slow down or turn to pass behind it. Never try to sneak across its nose to beat it to the intersection.

The mental shortcut: traffic on your right, it’s their flight; traffic on your left, it’s your flight - but you keep watching either way, because you still own the collision-avoidance responsibility.

So the Saturday-morning question - airplane converging from your right, same altitude, closing in - has one answer: you yield. He’s on your right, so you turn behind him.

Who Has the Right of Way When Overtaking?

When you’re the faster airplane coming up behind a slower one - say a Bonanza running down a Cessna 172 on the same route - the aircraft being overtaken has the right of way. The overtaking airplane (you) shall alter course to the right to pass well clear.

The slower airplane in front may not even know you’re there. You have the energy and the information, so you’re the one who moves - and once again, you move right.

Notice the rhythm across all three encounters: head-on, both turn right; converging, the airplane on the right wins and you pass behind; overtaking, you move right to pass. Right, right, right. When in doubt, the answer is almost always turn to the right.

Who Has the Right of Way in the Traffic Pattern and on Final?

The regulation has a special provision for the pattern. Aircraft on final approach to land, or while landing, have the right of way over other aircraft in flight or operating on the surface. An airplane on short final beats one still maneuvering in the pattern, and it beats an airplane taxiing or sitting on the runway.

But there’s a firm limit: you cannot use this right of way to force an aircraft off the runway that has already landed and is making way for traffic behind it. You can’t dive in on a screaming final and expect a landed airplane to vanish. If it won’t work, you go around.

And when two aircraft approach to land at about the same time, the aircraft at the lower altitude has the right of way - the lower airplane lands first. The same guardrail applies: you shall not take advantage of this to cut in front of another aircraft on final or to overtake it. The rule assumes you got low honestly by flying a normal approach, not by diving underneath to steal position.

A real-world scenario: you’re on a stabilized downwind at a non-towered field, and someone calls a long straight-in final from five miles out, descending, and it’s going to be close. Technically, if he’s lower and on final, the rule leans his way. But the rules are the floor, not the ceiling. The safe pilot doesn’t lawyer the regulation over the radio - you extend your downwind, widen out, announce clearly, and let the conflict dissolve.

How Is Right-of-Way Tested on the Checkride?

Under the airport operations and traffic pattern tasks, the Airman Certification Standards (ACS) expect you to know and correctly apply the right-of-way rules. The examiner is looking for two things:

1. On the oral: that you can accurately recite the hierarchy and the three encounters.
2. In the airplane (the one that really counts): that you demonstrate collision avoidance and right-of-way in practice - clearing your turns, keeping your eyes outside, yielding correctly when traffic is a factor, and saying so on the radio.

The oral questions feel like trivia - balloon beats glider, turn right when head-on, lower airplane lands first. It’s easy to memorize them like flashcards and forget them the moment you close the book. But nose-to-nose with someone at pattern altitude, you won’t have time to think. You’ll do whatever your hands are already trained to do. Don’t learn this for the checkride - learn it until it’s a reflex.

The Best Way to Win a Right-of-Way Conflict

The single best tool you have is never getting into a conflict in the first place. See and avoid:

• Scan the sky in sections, not one big sweep.
• Clear before every turn.
• Use your landing light in the pattern so you’re easier to spot.
• Make clear, accurate position reports.

Most of these encounters can be dissolved early - while the other airplane is still a distant speck - long before anybody has to yield anything.

Key Takeaways

• Above every other rule: regardless of who has the right of way, you must operate to avoid a collision.
• The hierarchy runs from least to most maneuverable: aircraft in distress, then balloons, gliders, airships, and finally powered aircraft - with towing/refueling aircraft given special protection.
• The three encounters: head-on (both turn right), converging (the airplane on the right wins; pass behind), and overtaking (move right to pass well clear).
• On approach, the aircraft on final and the aircraft at the lower altitude have the right of way - but never use that to cut someone off or force a landed airplane off the runway.
• When in doubt, turn right and keep your eyes outside.