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14 CFR § 91.129
Volume 2 · Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations, 2025 edition.
Operations in Class D airspace
Sec. 91.129 Operations in Class D airspace.
(a) General. Unless otherwise authorized or required by the ATC
facility having jurisdiction over the Class D airspace area, each person
operating an aircraft in Class D airspace must comply with the
applicable provisions of this section. In addition, each person must
comply with Sec. Sec. 91.126 and 91.127. For the purpose of this
section, the primary airport is the airport for which the Class D
airspace area is designated. A satellite airport is any other airport
within the Class D airspace area.
(b) Deviations. An operator may deviate from any provision of this
section under the provisions of an ATC authorization issued by the ATC
facility having jurisdiction over the airspace concerned. ATC may
authorize a deviation on a continuing basis or for an individual flight,
as appropriate.
(c) Communications. Each person operating an aircraft in Class D
airspace must meet the following two-way radio communications
requirements:
(1) Arrival or through flight. Each person must establish two-way
radio communications with the ATC facility (including foreign ATC in the
case of foreign airspace designated in the United States) providing air
traffic services prior to entering that airspace and thereafter maintain
those communications while within that airspace.
(2) Departing flight. Each person--
(i) From the primary airport or satellite airport with an operating
control tower must establish and maintain two-way radio communications
with the control tower, and thereafter as instructed by ATC while
operating in the Class D airspace area; or
(ii) From a satellite airport without an operating control tower,
must establish and maintain two-way radio communications with the ATC
facility
having jurisdiction over the Class D airspace area as soon as
practicable after departing.
(d) Communications failure. Each person who operates an aircraft in
a Class D airspace area must maintain two-way radio communications with
the ATC facility having jurisdiction over that area.
(1) If the aircraft radio fails in flight under IFR, the pilot must
comply with Sec. 91.185 of the part.
(2) If the aircraft radio fails in flight under VFR, the pilot in
command may operate that aircraft and land if--
(i) Weather conditions are at or above basic VFR weather minimums;
(ii) Visual contact with the tower is maintained; and
(iii) A clearance to land is received.
(e) Minimum altitudes when operating to an airport in Class D
airspace. (1) Unless required by the applicable distance-from-cloud
criteria, each pilot operating a large or turbine-powered airplane must
enter the traffic pattern at an altitude of at least 1,500 feet above
the elevation of the airport and maintain at least 1,500 feet until
further descent is required for a safe landing.
(2) Each pilot operating a large or turbine-powered airplane
approaching to land on a runway served by an instrument approach
procedure with vertical guidance, if the airplane is so equipped, must:
(i) Operate that airplane at an altitude at or above the glide path
between the published final approach fix and the decision altitude (DA),
or decision height (DH), as applicable; or
(ii) If compliance with the applicable distance-from-cloud criteria
requires glide path interception closer in, operate that airplane at or
above the glide path, between the point of interception of glide path
and the DA or the DH.
(3) Each pilot operating an airplane approaching to land on a runway
served by a visual approach slope indicator must maintain an altitude at
or above the glide path until a lower altitude is necessary for a safe
landing.
(4) Paragraphs (e)(2) and (e)(3) of this section do not prohibit
normal bracketing maneuvers above or below the glide path that are
conducted for the purpose of remaining on the glide path.
(f) Approaches. Except when conducting a circling approach under
part 97 of this chapter or unless otherwise required by ATC, each pilot
must--
(1) Circle the airport to the left, if operating an airplane; or
(2) Avoid the flow of fixed-wing aircraft, if operating a
helicopter.
(g) Departures. No person may operate an aircraft departing from an
airport except in compliance with the following:
(1) Each pilot must comply with any departure procedures established
for that airport by the FAA.
(2) Unless otherwise required by the prescribed departure procedure
for that airport or the applicable distance from clouds criteria, each
pilot of a turbine-powered airplane and each pilot of a large airplane
must climb to an altitude of 1,500 feet above the surface as rapidly as
practicable.
(h) Noise abatement. Where a formal runway use program has been
established by the FAA, each pilot of a large or turbine-powered
airplane assigned a noise abatement runway by ATC must use that runway.
However, consistent with the final authority of the pilot in command
concerning the safe operation of the aircraft as prescribed in Sec.
91.3(a), ATC may assign a different runway if requested by the pilot in
the interest of safety.
(i) Takeoff, landing, taxi clearance. No person may, at any airport
with an operating control tower, operate an aircraft on a runway or
taxiway, or take off or land an aircraft, unless an appropriate
clearance is received from ATC.
[Docket 24458, 56 FR 65658, Dec. 17, 1991, as amended by Amdt. 91-234,
58 FR 48793, Sept. 20, 1993; Amdt. 91-296, 72 FR 31678, June 7, 2007; 77
FR 28250, May 14, 2012]U.S. Government work — public domain (17 U.S.C. §105). Reproduced from the checksummed 2025 annual edition of Title 14; always confirm against the current eCFR.