PLT414: Right-of-Way Rules
What code PLT414 covers, why the FAA tests it, and how to study Right-of-Way Rules before your checkride.
Recall regulations - general right-of-way rules
What this means for your checkride
The right-of-way rules set who yields when aircraft converge: an aircraft in distress has priority, then the least maneuverable (balloon, then glider, then airplane). Converging at the same category, the aircraft on the right has the right of way; head-on, both turn right; overtaking passes on the right.
Right-of-way rules prevent collisions and are frequently tested, so the FAA checks the priority order and the converging and head-on cases.
Pilots forget the least-maneuverable priority. A powered airplane yields to gliders and balloons, and everyone yields to an aircraft in distress.
Where to study it
Practice questions on this code
Real questions from the Aviator IQ bank that test this exact area. Answer each to see the correct choice, the full rationale, and the FAA source.
Two aircraft of the same category are converging at approximately the same altitude and not head-on. Which aircraft has the right-of-way?
Oral checkride defense
A code on your report is an area the examiner can revisit. Here is how an examiner might probe it, and how to explain it out loud.
Two aircraft of the same category are converging, not head-on. Who has the right of way?
The aircraft on the right has the right of way; the other gives way and does not pass over, under, or ahead. Add the overall priority: an aircraft in distress first, then the least maneuverable, balloon then glider then airplane, so a powered airplane yields to both.
You are overtaking another aircraft. What do you do?
The aircraft being overtaken has the right of way. Alter course to the right and pass well clear. For a head-on situation, both pilots turn right.
A code on your test report is an area of deficiency. An authorized instructor must review it with you and endorse that review before you take the practical test, and the examiner may revisit it during the oral. Study it until you can explain it out loud, not just recognize the answer.