Except when necessary for takeoff or landing, no person may operate an aircraft below the following altitudes:
(a) Anywhere. An altitude allowing, if a power unit fails, an emergency landing without undue hazard to persons or property on the surface.
(b) Over congested areas. Over any congested area of a city, town, or settlement, or over any open air assembly of persons, an altitude of 1,000 feet above the highest obstacle within a horizontal radius of 2,000 feet of the aircraft.
(c) Over other than congested areas. An altitude of 500 feet above the surface, except over open water or sparsely populated areas. In those cases, the aircraft may not be operated closer than 500 feet to any person, vessel, vehicle, or structure.
(d) Helicopters, powered parachutes, and weight-shift-control aircraft. If the operation is conducted without hazard to persons or property on the surface—
(1) A helicopter may be operated at less than the minimums prescribed in paragraph (b) or (c) of this section, provided each person operating the helicopter complies with any routes or altitudes specifically prescribed for helicopters by the FAA; and
(2) A powered parachute or weight-shift-control aircraft may be operated at less than the minimums prescribed in paragraph (c) of this section.
[Docket 18334, 54 FR 34294, Aug. 18, 1989, as amended by Amdt. 91-311, 75 FR 5223, Feb. 1, 2010]
Notes of Decisions
Custer Cnty. Action Ass'n v. Garvey, 256 F.3d 1024 (10th Cir. 2001).
· cites it 5× “14 C.F.R. § 91.119 . The general flight rule regulation specifically proscribes the operation of aircraft “closer than 500 feet to any person, vessel, vehicle, or structure” over open water or sparsely populated areas; the operation of aircraft closer than 500 feet above the…”
State v. Bryant, 2008 VT 39 (Vt. 2008).
· cites it 3× “Because FAA regulations allow helicopters to fly at any altitude “if the operation is conducted without hazard to persons or property on the surface,” 14 C.F.R. § 91.119 (emphasis added), the inevitable result of this reasoning — in the absence of more restrictive state aviation…”
United States v. Deandra Sue Warford, United States of Am. v. Phillip Whatley, 439 F.3d 836 (8th Cir. 2006).
· cites it 2× “” 14 C.F.R. § 91.119 (2005). Helicopters are not “bound by the lower limits of the navigable airspace allowed to other aircraft,” and the Supreme Court has found no “search” in a helicopter overflight at 400 feet, where such flyovers were not shown to be rare, and any member of…”
Bursztajn v. USA, 367 F.3d 485 (5th Cir. 2004).
· cites it 2× “13 , 2 prohibiting “reckless operation” of aircraft, and 14 C.F.R. § 91.119 , 3 requiring safe helicopter operations at low altitudes.”
Air Pegasus of d.c., Inc. v. United States, 424 F.3d 1206 (Fed. Cir. 2005).
“The FAA defines "navigable airspace” at 14 C.F.R. § 91.119 (2005). The regulation states that helicopters may fly at lower altitudes than airplanes, provided they do not pose a "hazard to persons or property on the surface.”
Lee v. Farmer's Rural Elec. Coop. Corp., 245 S.W.3d 209 (Ky. Ct. App. 2007).
· cites it 2× “” 14 C.F.R. § 91.119 (d). Finally, several of the cases relied heavily on evidence that prior accidents had occurred at the same locations.”
Joy v. Bell Helicopter Textron, Inc., 999 F.2d 549 (D.C. Cir. 1993).
“79 (1987) (subsequently recodified at 14 C.F.R. § 91.119 (1992)), which provides: Except when necessary for takeoff or landing, no person may operate an aircraft below the following altitudes: (a) Anywhere.”
Sauk Prairie Conservation Alli v. DOI, 944 F.3d 664 (7th Cir. 2019).
“On the other hand, while federal regulations prohibit aircraft from flying below certain alti- tudes, see 14 C.F.R. § 91.119 , they carve out an exception for helicopters, which “may be operated at less than the mini- mums prescribed” elsewhere so long as the pilot follows…”
Elassaad v. Indep. Air, Inc., 613 F.3d 119 (3rd Cir. 2010).
“”); 14 C.F.R. § 91.119 (setting minimum altitudes for various situations); 14 C.”
— 14 C.F.R. § 91.119(b) — 2 cases
— 14 C.F.R. § 91.119(c) — 1 case
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