How low can a plane legally fly over houses?

A plane that seems to skim the rooftops is alarming, and it is natural to assume it must be breaking a rule. Usually it isn't. The minimum height rules are real and enforced, but they have one large exception that covers almost every low plane people see near an airport.

The minimum heights

The UK and the EU use the same rules, the Standardised European Rules of the Air (SERA), which the UK kept after Brexit. The US has its own, in the Federal Aviation Regulations. They are close:

The "highest obstacle" part matters in a city. If there is a 100 m (330 ft) tower within 600 m, the minimum is 1,000 ft above the top of the tower, about 1,330 ft above the street.

In the UK and EU, these are the rules for flights under visual flight rules, where the pilot flies by looking outside, as most light aircraft and many helicopters do. Airliners fly on instruments, under a separate rule that keeps them at least 1,000 ft above the highest obstacle within 8 km (2,000 ft over mountains), unless the country sets its own minimum altitudes. The European rules also forbid flying in a negligent or reckless way that endangers people or property.

The big exception: taking off and landing

Every one of these rules begins with the same words: except when necessary for take-off or landing. A plane cannot land without coming down to the ground, and the rules allow for it.

That is why planes are so low over homes near a runway. Airliners approach on a fixed descent of 3 degrees, lining up with the runway well before they reach it, so the height at each point under the approach is predictable.

So every house within about 5 km of the runway on its extended centre line sees landing planes below 1,000 ft, every time, and legally. At Heathrow, landing planes on easterly days pass about 750 ft over Horton, 4 km out. Take-offs climb far more steeply, so they are low over a shorter stretch. Our guide to why planes fly so low over houses explains normal approaches in more detail.

In the UK, the CAA's exceptions also cover flying a published procedure and practising approaches at an aerodrome, so a light aircraft practising approaches at an airfield can be low without breaking the rules. EASA's guidance for the EU says take-off and landing include go-arounds and missed approaches at an aerodrome.

The heights over your own home follow from where it sits relative to the runway and how often each direction is used.

Other exceptions: permission, emergency services and helicopters

Beyond taking off and landing, a plane or helicopter can legally fly lower in these cases:

• With the regulator's permission. The CAA, or the national authority in an EU country, can allow individual flights or kinds of flight below the minimums.
• Police aircraft. In the UK they are exempt from the minimum heights, but only as far as the task requires.
• Air ambulances. In the UK they are exempt from the minimum heights, but, except when taking off or landing, must stay at least 500 ft from any person, vessel, vehicle or structure. They must keep a record of every landing and take-off in a built-up area.
• Search and rescue helicopters, in the UK when working with the Coastguard, again only as far as necessary.
• Helicopters at their landing sites. In the UK a helicopter can manoeuvre low at an aerodrome or approved site, keeping at least 200 ft from people and buildings outside it. In the US, helicopters may fly below the usual minimums anywhere as long as they do so without hazard to people or property on the ground and follow any FAA helicopter routes.
• A few special cases, such as gliders soaring along hills away from towns and balloons landing because the wind has dropped.

EU rules allow national authorities to exempt police, customs, search and rescue, medical, firefighting and similar flights in the same way.

Military aircraft

Military aircraft follow their own rules, and the CAA has no authority over them. In the UK low flying system, fixed-wing military aircraft fly down to 250 ft above the ground and helicopters down to 100 ft, and helicopters can be authorised to go lower. Low flying is not usually allowed around airports or over towns and cities of more than 10,000 people.

Drones

Drones have maximum heights rather than minimum ones. In the UK's open category, a drone must stay within 120 m (400 ft) of the ground. In the US, drones flown under the FAA's small drone rules must stay below 400 ft unless they are close to a tall structure. The CAA reminds drone pilots that air ambulances, police helicopters and military aircraft can be flying below that height too.

How to report a flight you think was too low

First, check whether it was taking off or landing. A plane lined up with a runway, descending steadily or climbing away from one, was almost certainly within the rules. So was an air ambulance landing at a hospital or a police helicopter circling over an incident.

If you still think it was too low:

• Planes using a large airport: complain to the airport first. It can see the flight's track and height and check it against its procedures. Our guide to complaining about aircraft noise explains what to include.
• Other civil aircraft in the UK: report it to the CAA as a potential breach of aviation law, using its online form. The CAA aims to reply within 20 working days. A photo or video with a fixed point in the frame, such as a house, helps it identify the aircraft and judge its height; the CAA says flight-tracking apps are not accurate evidence of an aircraft's position or height.
• Military aircraft in the UK: contact the Ministry of Defence's Low Flying Complaints and Enquiries Unit at SWK-lowflying@mod.gov.uk or 01780 417558. It aims to respond within 20 days.
• Drones flown dangerously in the UK: the police, on 101.
• In the US: report an aircraft flying unsafely to the local FAA Flight Standards District Office. The FAA says noise from low-flying aircraft is not a safety matter for those offices; send noise concerns to the airport or the FAA's noise portal. For military aircraft, contact the nearest base.

Keep one thing in mind. A plane can be very loud and entirely legal. The CAA is clear that aircraft noise is not in itself a breach of aviation rules, so a report about height needs to be about height.