Rules for Helicopter Pilots

trippf33 · Apr 20, 2017

Hello all,
I was hoping someone on here could provide some clarification for me. I live in the US and follow the 400' ceiling regulation when flying my Phantom 4. I thought I had read somewhere that the reason for our 400' height requirement was that helicopters are supposed to stay above 500'. Can anyone provide any verification of that rule? The reason I am wondering is that I have noticed many of the local news copters are flying MUCH lower than 500'. Luckily I have never had my bird in the air when I have seen one of the low-flying copters. However, I am concerned that at some point I may be flying and not have enough time to maneuver out of the way of the helicopters if that situation were to ever arise. And finally, if the helicopter pilots are required to remain above 500', how do I go about resolving that conflict? Should I get in touch with the FAA?
Thanks in advance for the responses!

sar104 · Apr 20, 2017

Helicopters, in particular, can fly lower in some situations.

eCFR — Code of Federal Regulations

trippf33 · Apr 20, 2017

I see. It's possible that some of those situations may have applied when I've seen the helicopters. Thanks for your response!

Phill2 · Apr 20, 2017

Here in Australia we have the 400' rule but emergency copters fly at 200'

With The Birds · Apr 20, 2017

Phill2 said:
Here in Australia we have the 400' rule but emergency copters fly at 200'

Not just emergency.... I had one less than 100ft over my place carrying a palm tree.

Crack The Sky · Apr 20, 2017

trippf33 said:
I see. It's possible that some of those situations may have applied when I've seen the helicopters. Thanks for your response!

With many people here, there is a consensus that the FAA has an "absolute minimum altitude" requirement rule for aircraft. This is simply not true. Please see 91.119 (a), and (c) below for a better understanding of the actual wording of the law.
Aircraft can fly on the deck as long as they maintain 500 foot horizontal separation from persons, vessels, vehicles, and structures, in sparsely populated areas.

Sec. 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; 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.

drumbum675 · Apr 22, 2017

I fly a law enforcement helicopter, we generally operate at 500 ft day and 800 - 1000 ft night. However, on day-time calls will come down to 200-300 ft at times.

With The Birds · Apr 22, 2017

drumbum675 said:
I fly a law enforcement helicopter, we generally operate at 500 ft day and 800 - 1000 ft night. However, on day-time calls will come down to 200-300 ft at times.

Here is a left field question- how high do you need to be to perform an autorotation emergency landing?