Small Planes Flying Below 500 feet AGL

[glocke12]

I'm pretty sure that my understanding that small, single engine planes are not permitted to fly below 500' AGL ( aside from take offs and landings ) is correct, yet once a month or so I see these types of aircraft flying in my area and over house and they are obviously below 500'. To my eye it appears they are as low as 300'-400', and they are low enough that if I were flying my drone from my backyard over my house/property at those altitudes it would be very concerning to me.

Are these pilots just ignoring the flight rules pertaining to their aircraft or is there a valid reason for them to be flying that low?

There are no airports anywhere within a 10 mile radius of my house that they would be using for takeoffs/landings so thats not whats going on.

 

[Max Headroom]

once a month or so I see these types of aircraft flying in my area and over house and they are obviously below 500'. To my eye it appears they are as low as 300'-400', and they are low enough that if I were flying my drone from my backyard over my house/property at those altitudes it would be very concerning to me.

When did your eye become an accurate measure of height how can you tell they are "Obviously below 500 feet"

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[glocke12]

When did your eye become an accurate measure of height how can you tell they are "Obviously below 500 feet"

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I was waiting for this response...

I know the height of the structures that are around me ( such as the cellular tower that is nearby, as well as other structures such as the near by church steeple) and use those as a guide, and I know what a small plane that is flying below 500' near my property looks like because my brother the private pilot buzzed our house on more than one occasion flying below that altitude, as in buzzing the tree tops. I'm not an idiot...I wouldn't have asked that question here unless I was certain they were below 500'.

 

[Max Headroom]

I'm not an idiot...I wouldn't have asked that question here unless I was certain they were below 500

You cannot judge height by eye saying you know the height of a steeple and the plane looks lower is not proof, ask yourself why a pilot would fly illegally for no reason in plain sight of the general public, have you reported the pilot if not why not.

 

[Meta4]

I'm pretty sure that my understanding that small, single engine planes are not permitted to fly below 500' AGL ( aside from take offs and landings ) is correct

Here's the actual rule regarding minimum safe altitudes for planes.

§ 91.119 Minimum safe altitudes: General.
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

 

[glocke12]

You cannot judge height by eye saying you know the height of a steeple and the plane looks lower is not proof, ask yourself why a pilot would fly illegally for no reason in plain sight of the general public, have you reported the pilot if not why not.

What part of " My brother buzzed our house more than once near tree top level " did you not understand ?. That and knowing the height of local structures gives me a pretty darn good idea of how high these planes are flying. I also told you there are other structures nearby that I use as reference also, such as a nearby cell tower.

No I haven't reported them because I wasn't sure if they were perhaps practicing some type of emergency maneuver ( like the other pilot around here who purposely stalls his engine during flight ), and I also suppose because I am not a snitch.

 

[MA2 317]

I wasn't sure if they were perhaps practicing some type of emergency maneuver ( like the other pilot around here who purposely stalls his engine during flight ),

If the aircraft has a ADS-B transponder, apps like Flight Radar may list the type of aircraft, tail number, speed and elevation if you're curious.

https://www.apposee.com/com.flightradar24free?msclkid=64eba9d0899e191bf9f0c17939f3b2af&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=US-Flightradar24-DD&utm_term=Flightradar24%20app&utm_content=Flightradar24

.

 

[Cafguy]

Have you checked the VFR low altitude map of your area . It will probably tell you why they are flying low.

 

[Max Headroom]

That and knowing the height of local structures gives me a pretty darn good idea of how high these planes are flying I also told you there are other structures nearby that I use as reference also, such as a nearby cell tower.

What part of " My brother buzzed our house more than once near tree top level " did you not understand ?.

Do you not get how stupid saying "gives me a pretty darn good idea of how high these planes are flying" is as I said you cannot judge height by eye you are guessing, if you are so sure they are breaking safety rules why haven't you reported them it's not snitching you have a responsibility to report them.

 

[glocke12]

Do you not get how stupid saying "gives me a pretty darn good idea of how high these planes are flying" is as I said you cannot judge height by eye you are guessing, if you are so sure they are breaking safety rules why haven't you reported them it's not snitching you have a responsibility to report them.

wow....no further comment since I am an adult, and I also do not want to risk getting banned from this site, but thankfully there is an ignore button. When I've already mentioned more than once that I have reference for what a low altitude flight looks like over my house ( again, my brother buzzing our house several times just above the tree tops ), you are way out of line with your comment. I mean, when I've seen a single engine Cessna fly directly over my house a few times just barely clearing the tree tops I think that is enough to give me a pretty good idea of how low other aircraft of a similar size are flying. JFC...

 

[MS Coast]

What part of " My brother buzzed our house more than once near tree top level " did you not understand ?. That and knowing the height of local structures gives me a pretty darn good idea of how high these planes are flying. I also told you there are other structures nearby that I use as reference also, such as a nearby cell tower.

You cannot count on manned aircraft to be at 500' AGL. See post #5.

Even with structures of known height nearby, it's extremely difficult for observers on the ground to accurately estimate the altitude of aircraft, even low flying aircraft. Your confidence in your estimates may not be justified.

 

[johnnyb57]

why snitch on them, who cares what elevation they fly at ? You have control over your drone, has does the pilot of his plane...

 

[glocke12]

why snitch on them, who cares what elevation they fly at ? You have control over your drone, has does the pilot of his plane...

I think thats pretty much where I'm at on this. If I had been flying at that moment I'd be concerned but I'd just bring my drone down to a lower altitude..

As for the " who cares " part, it's not so much that I care, it was more of a question regarding regulations that I was asking.

As for the snitching part, it's interesting that some peoples initial reaction is asking why I didn't snitch on them. Snitching on folks just simply isn't something that occurs to me naturally or that I am inclined to do unless it is something serious.

 

[Dale D]

I'm pretty sure that my understanding that small, single engine planes are not permitted to fly below 500' AGL ( aside from take offs and landings ) is correct, yet once a month or so I see these types of aircraft flying in my area and over house and they are obviously below 500'. To my eye it appears they are as low as 300'-400', and they are low enough that if I were flying my drone from my backyard over my house/property at those altitudes it would be very concerning to me.

Are these pilots just ignoring the flight rules pertaining to their aircraft or is there a valid reason for them to be flying that low?

There are no airports anywhere within a 10 mile radius of my house that they would be using for takeoffs/landings so thats not whats going on.

I sympathize with the original poster, glocke12. I live in Miami, and in a fairly affluent neighborhood. I happen to live along the flight path of both small light weight planes and tourism helicopters, and every evening, around golden hour, I dare not put my drone up in the air above my driveway because of the danger of being in the path of these planes. For sure, they are flying very low, probably less than 500 feet. Although I have binoculars I could not possibly grab the tail number, nor would I know where to report them. My only protection would be to actually hear the sound of an aircraft nearing me and rapidly respond by lowering my drone. I tend to limit my flying to about 100-125 feet.
Dale

I'm pretty sure that my understanding that small, single engine planes are not permitted to fly below 500' AGL ( aside from take offs and landings ) is correct, yet once a month or so I see these types of aircraft flying in my area and over house and they are obviously below 500'. To my eye it appears they are as low as 300'-400', and they are low enough that if I were flying my drone from my backyard over my house/property at those altitudes it would be very concerning to me.

Are these pilots just ignoring the flight rules pertaining to their aircraft or is there a valid reason for them to be flying that low?

There are no airports anywhere within a 10 mile radius of my house that they would be using for takeoffs/landings so thats not whats going on.

 

[mavic3usa]

Because ADS-B is working out so well in the small area I fly the most (controlled airspace), I don't usually have a problem with low flying aircraft and being able to quickly respond. I often detect them before I can hear them giving me enough time to determine where they are coming from and avoid them or hover lower rather than landing.

 

[MS Coast]

Because ADS-B is working out so well in the small area I fly the most (controlled airspace), I don't usually have a problem with low flying aircraft and being able to quickly respond. I often detect them before I can hear them giving me enough time to determine where they are coming from and avoid them or hover lower rather than landing.

Just be aware that all manned aircraft do not broadcast ADS-B.

 

[JoelP]

I live in an area where there are trails up the foothills East of San Jose. When I climb to high elevations near high-tension power lines, I have seen small planes flying just above the tops of these high-tension lines. Clearly, these towers are not 500 ft tall. As a former sailplane pilot, I am reasonably able to judge elevation of aircraft. That said, I wondered if this was a violation. I asked a friend who is an aviation instructor with multiple ratings if that was a legal altitude. She told me that this low altitude is permissible since they are attempting to land at Reid Hillview airport four miles away in a Class D airspace and they want to stay under the Class C airspace designated for the San Jose airport. Before you say that your aircraft was flying illegally be sure to look at the sectional chart to see if they were in the process of landing at a nearby airport.

It is also possible for helicopters to fly just over treetop height. I flew once in a field surrounded by tall trees and was lucky to hear the approaching helicopter that quickly appeared just over those trees and well under 400 ft. I was able to duck under th4e height of the trees, but just barely in time. The newer features added to identify nearby aircraft helps, but I hate to rely on that.

 

[glocke12]

I live in an area where there are trails up the foothills East of San Jose. When I climb to high elevations near high-tension power lines, I have seen small planes flying just above the tops of these high-tension lines. Clearly, these towers are not 500 ft tall. As a former sailplane pilot, I am reasonably able to judge elevation of aircraft. That said, I wondered if this was a violation. I asked a friend who is an aviation instructor with multiple ratings if that was a legal altitude. She told me that this low altitude is permissible since they are attempting to land at Reid Hillview airport four miles away in a Class D airspace and they want to stay under the Class C airspace designated for the San Jose airport. Before you say that your aircraft was flying illegally be sure to look at the sectional chart to see if they were in the process of landing at a nearby airport.

It is also possible for helicopters to fly just over treetop height. I flew once in a field surrounded by tall trees and was lucky to hear the approaching helicopter that quickly appeared just over those trees and well under 400 ft. I was able to duck under th4e height of the trees, but just barely in time. The newer features added to identify nearby aircraft helps, but I hate to rely on that.

As stated in O.P., there are no airports ( or private airfields, landing strips, etc..etc..) within 10 miles of me. That was the first thing I double checked before posting.

 

[MA2 317]

Just be aware that all manned aircraft do not broadcast ADS-B.

Yep.

Class G airspace around me and there's a trio of antique bi-planes that cruise around the county in formation on the weekends.

They don't show up on my apps, but I hear them before I see them.

.

 

[Max Headroom]

You cannot count on manned aircraft to be at 500' AGL. See post #5.

Even with structures of known height nearby, it's extremely difficult for observers on the ground to accurately estimate the altitude of aircraft, even low flying aircraft. Your confidence in your estimates may not be justified.

He wont agree with you he thinks he is a human altimeter