Updated October 2026
Under 14 CFR 91.113, an aircraft in distress has the right-of-way over all other traffic. After that the order is balloon, glider, an aircraft towing or refueling another, airship, and then every other powered aircraft. Head-on, both pilots turn right. Converging in the same category, the aircraft on the right has it. The one being overtaken has it. Landing, the lower aircraft has it.
That paragraph is most of the rule. The other half of this page is its neighbor in every oral exam, 14 CFR 91.119, which sets how low you may fly over a city, open country and water. We checked both against the current eCFR text in October 2026. The explanations are the ones we use at Van Nuys, where a student meets a business jet, a news helicopter and three other trainers before lunch.
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The Right-Of-Way Order: Distress, Balloon, Glider, Towing, Airship
Paragraph (d) of 91.113 ranks aircraft by how well they can get out of your way. A balloon goes where the wind sends it, so it outranks everything. A glider has no engine to climb away with, so it outranks every powered aircraft. An airship is slow and huge. An airplane towing a banner or a glider is hobbled by what it is pulling.
Here is the detail most mnemonics get wrong. The current text gives an airship priority over all other powered aircraft, with one exception: an aircraft towing or refueling other aircraft. It then gives the towing or refueling aircraft priority over all other powered aircraft, and an airship is a powered aircraft. So the towing aircraft sits above the airship, not below it, which is not the order many study guides print.
Distress sits above all of it under 91.113(c). A Cessna with a rough engine trying to make the field has priority over a balloon, a glider and an airliner.
The ranking also only applies between different categories. When two aircraft of the same category converge at about the same altitude, 91.113(d) gives the right-of-way to the one on the other's right. The rule does not rank an airplane against a helicopter, because both are simply powered aircraft. Our advice to students is to give way early to anything that is converging from your right and not to argue the point with a rotor blade.
| Situation | Who Has The Right-Of-Way | What The Other Pilot Does | Paragraph |
|---|---|---|---|
| Any aircraft in distress | The aircraft in distress | Everyone else gives way | 91.113(c) |
| Balloon and any other aircraft | The balloon | Gives way, passing well clear | 91.113(d)(1) |
| Glider and any powered aircraft | The glider | Gives way, passing well clear | 91.113(d)(2) |
| Banner tow and an airship | The aircraft towing | The airship gives way | 91.113(d)(3) and (d)(4) |
| Two airplanes converging at the same altitude | The one on the other's right | The one on the left gives way | 91.113(d) |
| Two aircraft head-on | Neither | Both alter course to the right | 91.113(e) |
| One aircraft overtaking another | The aircraft being overtaken | The overtaking pilot alters course to the right and passes well clear | 91.113(f) |
| Two aircraft approaching to land | The lower one | The higher one gives way; the lower one may not cut in front of an aircraft on final | 91.113(g) |
Converging, Head-On And Overtaking
Converging is the case you will meet most, usually somewhere between the Sepulveda Basin and the ridge. If the other airplane is on your right, it has the right-of-way and you give way. If it is on your left, you hold your course and keep watching, because having the right-of-way does not stop you from being hit.
How you give way matters as much as whether you do. Under paragraph (b), the pilot giving way may not pass over, under or ahead of the other aircraft unless well clear. Diving under someone or crossing their nose at a quarter of a mile both break the rule. The cleanest move is usually a turn to the right, which takes you behind the other airplane and shows its pilot your full planform.
Head-on, or nearly so, 91.113(e) tells each pilot to turn right. Overtaking, 91.113(f) gives the right-of-way to the slower airplane and tells the faster one to pass on the right, well clear. In practice that happens on downwind at Van Nuys when a DA20 catches a Skycatcher, and the tower usually fixes it with an extended downwind before anyone has to think about paragraph letters.
Landing: The Lower Aircraft Has It, But Not By Cutting In
Paragraph (g) has two halves. First, an aircraft on final approach or landing has the right-of-way over aircraft in flight or on the surface. That is why you hold short and wait for the airplane on a two-mile final even when you could probably make it.
Second, when two or more aircraft are approaching an airport to land, the lower one has the right-of-way. Then it closes the loophole. The lower pilot may not use that priority to cut in front of an airplane already on final, or to overtake it. Descending under someone on a long final to claim the runway is a violation, not a technique.
There is a quieter clause in the same paragraph that matters on short runways. An aircraft on final may not force an aircraft that has already landed off the runway while it is clearing. If the airplane ahead is still rolling out on the 4,000-foot 16L, the go-around is yours.
See And Avoid, And How To Scan For Traffic
Every right-of-way rule sits on top of one sentence in 91.113(b): when weather permits, each pilot must keep watch to see and avoid other aircraft, regardless of whether the flight is IFR or VFR. An instrument clearance does not switch that off on a clear day.
The FAA's scanning advice in AIM 8-1-6 is specific. Move your eyes in short, regular steps that each cover no more than 10 degrees, and hold each block of sky for at least 1 second so your eye has time to detect something. Sweeping your head across the windshield in one smooth motion feels thorough and finds almost nothing.
AIM 8-1-8 adds the warning that catches people: an airplane that shows no relative motion and stays in the same part of your windshield is likely on a collision course. It does not drift. It just gets bigger, slowly and then very fast.
Two local habits help. The first is for the Valley haze. With nothing to focus on, AIM 8-1-6 says, the eye relaxes to a focal distance of roughly 10 to 30 feet, so we have students fix on a distant ridge line between scans. The second is for traffic calls from the tower: look where they say, then a little higher and a little lower, before you answer. "Looking" is not "traffic in sight", and the controller needs the second one.
A tablet with ADS-B traffic is a good second opinion. It is not a substitute for eyes outside, and plenty of what flies around Los Angeles is not on it.
Minimum Safe Altitudes Under 91.119: 500, 1,000 And Over Open Water
14 CFR 91.119 opens with "Except when necessary for takeoff or landing" and then sets three floors. The first applies everywhere: an altitude that would let you make an emergency landing, if a power unit fails, without undue hazard to people or property on the surface. That one paragraph governs more of our flying than the two numbers below it.
| Where You Are | Minimum | Paragraph |
|---|---|---|
| Anywhere | High enough to land without undue hazard to people or property if the engine fails | 91.119(a) |
| Over a congested area of a city, town or settlement, or an open-air assembly of people | 1,000 feet above the highest obstacle within a horizontal radius of 2,000 feet | 91.119(b) |
| Over other than congested areas | 500 feet above the surface | 91.119(c) |
| Over open water or sparsely populated areas | No closer than 500 feet to any person, vessel, vehicle or structure | 91.119(c) |
| Helicopters, powered parachutes and weight-shift aircraft | May go below (b) or (c) without hazard to people or property; helicopters follow FAA helicopter routes and altitudes | 91.119(d) |
Two points to get right on the checkride. The 500-foot open-water rule is a distance from things, not a height above the surface, so a boat directly below you at 400 feet is a problem even over the ocean. And 91.119 does not define "congested area". Treat any town, any neighborhood and any beach with people on it as congested, and you will not be the test case.
Around Los Angeles that leaves very little that is not congested. The San Fernando Valley, Simi Valley and the coast from Malibu to Santa Monica are all built up, which is why sensible local flying sits well above the legal floor. Our Los Angeles airspace guide covers what sits above you at the same time.
Right-Of-Way In The Van Nuys Pattern And The LA Practice Areas
Van Nuys is a Class D tower field under the Los Angeles Class B shelf, with two parallel runways: 16R/34L at 8,001 feet and 16L/34R at 4,000 feet. Burbank's Class C is 11 miles east and Whiteman is 6 miles northeast. The jets use the long runway, most of the training traffic uses the short one, and helicopters come and go all day.
The tower sequences you, and under 91.123(b) you may not fly contrary to an ATC instruction outside an emergency. "Number two, follow the Skycatcher on left base" settles who lands first. But 91.113 does not go away under a tower. The controller is separating runway use, not keeping two VFR airplanes apart in the air, and the see-and-avoid duty is still yours.
Three Van Nuys situations come up again and again in training:
- Two parallel patterns at different heights. The Chart Supplement entry on our Class D page lists 1,200 feet above the field for 16R/34L and 800 feet for 16L/34R, so a jet or a fast single on the long runway's downwind sits above the trainers. Check the current edition before you fly. Hold your altitude exactly and do not climb into the other pattern while you look for your traffic.
- Traffic on a long straight-in final. Under 91.113(g) an aircraft on final has priority over one entering the pattern, so you extend downwind or ask the tower rather than turning base in front of it.
- Helicopters crossing midfield. They are often low and fast, and they have the same claim on your attention as any airplane.
Out in the Simi Valley practice area there is no tower at all. Trainers from several airports use the same open air beyond the Santa Susana Mountains, often at similar altitudes, all doing slow turns with their noses high. We clear the area with a pair of 90-degree turns before every maneuver, call out every airplane we see, and treat the right-hand rule as a reason to give way early.
Written Test And Oral Exam Questions On 91.113 And 91.119
The FAA knowledge test likes scenarios. Expect a pair of aircraft and a question about who gives way, or a location and a question about the minimum altitude. Examiners do the same thing out loud, then ask why. These are the ones we drill before a private pilot checkride:
- A glider is converging from your left at your altitude. Who has the right-of-way? The glider, because the category rule beats the right-hand rule.
- You are on a two-mile final and a faster airplane is overtaking you from above. Who has it? You do, as the lower aircraft and the one being overtaken, and the other pilot may not cut in front.
- You see an airplane steady in the same spot on your windshield, getting bigger. What does that mean? A probable collision course; maneuver now.
- What is the minimum altitude over a stadium during a game? 1,000 feet above the highest obstacle within 2,000 feet, because it is an open-air assembly, and the stadium probably has a temporary flight restriction over it as well.
- Can you fly 300 feet above an empty desert? Possibly, if it is sparsely populated and nothing is within 500 feet. The examiner will then ask about 91.119(a) and where you would land.
Our private pilot written exam guide covers how the test is built. For the fuel, alcohol and equipment rules that sit beside these two, read the Part 91 rules every private pilot must know.
Related Reading
- Part 91 rules every private pilot must know: NWKRAFT, fuel, oxygen, alcohol and cruising altitudes.
- Traffic patterns, landings and go-arounds: where the landing right-of-way rule gets used every day.
- Los Angeles airspace guide: the Class B shelves, the corridors and the routes around them.
- Class D airspace, using Van Nuys as the example: the tower, the radio rule and the pattern altitudes.
- The Simi Valley practice area: where our students learn to clear the sky before a maneuver.
- Private pilot written exam: how the knowledge test asks about these rules.
Right-Of-Way Rules FAQ
Who Has The Right-Of-Way, A Glider Or An Airplane?
The glider. Under 14 CFR 91.113(d)(2) a glider has the right-of-way over powered aircraft, whichever side it approaches from. The only aircraft that outrank a glider are a balloon and an aircraft in distress.
Does An Airplane On Final Have The Right-Of-Way Over One Taking Off?
Yes. Under 91.113(g) an aircraft on final approach or landing has the right-of-way over other aircraft in flight or on the surface. At a towered field like Van Nuys you also need a clearance to take off or land under 91.129(i), so the tower decides the order.
Which Way Do You Turn When Head-On With Another Aircraft?
To the right. Under 91.113(e) each pilot alters course to the right when approaching head-on or nearly so. The water rule in 91.115(c) is the same, so seaplanes and boats also turn right.
What Is The Minimum Altitude Over A Congested Area?
1,000 feet above the highest obstacle within a horizontal radius of 2,000 feet of the aircraft, under 91.119(b). The section does not define congested area, so treat any town, neighborhood or crowd as congested.
Can You Fly Lower Than 500 Feet Over Open Water?
Over open water or sparsely populated areas, 91.119(c) sets a distance rather than a height: no closer than 500 feet to any person, vessel, vehicle or structure. Paragraph (a) still applies, so you need an altitude that allows an emergency landing without undue hazard to people on the surface.
Do The Right-Of-Way Rules Apply When Flying IFR?
Yes. 91.113(b) requires every pilot to see and avoid other aircraft when weather permits, whether the flight is IFR or VFR. ATC separates IFR traffic from other IFR traffic, but on a clear day the duty to look outside is still yours.
Is Formation Flying Legal Under Part 91?
Only by arrangement with the pilot in command of each aircraft in the formation, under 91.111(b), and never while carrying passengers for hire, under 91.111(c). Paragraph (a) also bans flying so close to another aircraft that it creates a collision hazard.
Practice The Scan From The Left Seat
You learn right-of-way in the pattern, not on a flash card. On a 60-minute discovery flight for $229 you fly from the left seat out of Van Nuys, hear the tower sequence the traffic, and look for the airplanes your instructor points out. The time is logged as dual instruction and is credited in full toward training if you enroll within 24 hours. If you want the whole private pilot course laid out first, from $10,400 with $2,500 down, book a free consultation or call (818) 330-1318, 9 AM to 9 PM every day. We are at 7900 Balboa Blvd, Main Terminal Unit 108, Van Nuys, CA 91406.
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