§§ 137.51(b)(1) through (3)2 (limitations on private agricultural aircraft operator) 91.119 (minimum safe altitudes) and 91.13(a) (careless and reckless). In the Folk case, the FAA alleged that the airmen had both engaged in agricultural aircraft operations in violation of 14 C.F.R. The legal interpretations have noted that the presence of people is important to the determination of whether a particular area is "congested." Thus, large, heavily congested residential areas of a city, town, or settlement would be considered "congested areas." Size of the area is not controlling, and violations of the rule have been sustained for operation of aircraft: (i) over a small congested area consisting of approximately 10 houses and a school (ii) over the campus of a university (iii) over a beach area along a highway and (iv) over a boy's camp where there were numerous people on the docks and children at play on shore. Multiple legal interpretations issued by the FAA's Office of the Chief Counsel have also addressed this issue and reiterated the "case-by-case" analysis used to determine whether an area is congested.
According to the Board, "the determination must take into consideration all circumstances, not only the size of an area and the number of homes or structures, but, for example, whether the buildings are occupied or people are otherwise present, such as on roads." Unfortunately, neither the FAA nor the NTSB has ever provided airmen with a precise definition of what constitutes a "congested area." Rather, a "congested area" is determined on a case-by-case basis. The purpose of the rule is to provide minimum safe altitudes for flight and to provide adequate protection to persons on the ground. This regulation first appeared in the Air Commerce Regulations of 1926. Although this case arose in the context of an aerial applicator operation, it is instructive for FAR Part 91 general aviation operations as well.Īs you may recall, FAR § 91.119 delineates the minimum safe altitudes for operations under FAR Part 91: Over a "congested area" of a city, town, or settlement, an aircraft must operate 1,000 feet above the highest obstacle within a horizontal radius of 2,000 feet of the aircraft (§ 91.119(b)) and over other than congested areas, an aircraft must operate 500 feet above the surface, unless it is over open water or sparsely populated areas, in which case the aircraft must stay at least 500 feet away from any person, vessel, vehicle, or structure (§ 91.119(c)). Folk, was whether the airmen's low-level flights occurred over a "congested area" as referenced in FAR § 91.119. The primary issue in a recent NTSB decision, Administrator v.
Identification Of A "Congested Area" Under FAR § 91.119: Hindsight Is 20/20
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