What is the lowest legal altitude?

The Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR) Part 91.119 indicates that, except when necessary for departure or landing, the minimum altitude over urban areas is 1,000 feet above ground level (AGL) and 500 feet AGL over rural areas.



Under FAA regulation 14 CFR 91.119, the lowest legal altitude depends on the terrain. Over congested areas (cities or towns), pilots must maintain an altitude of at least 1,000 feet above the highest obstacle within a horizontal radius of 2,000 feet. Over non-congested areas, the minimum is 500 feet above the surface. Over open water or sparsely populated areas, an aircraft may fly lower, provided it stays at least 500 feet away from any person, vessel, vehicle, or structure. There is an overarching "anywhere" rule stating that a pilot must always be high enough to allow for an emergency landing without undue hazard to people or property on the ground if a power unit fails. Helicopters are generally permitted to operate at lower altitudes if they comply with any routes or altitudes specifically prescribed by the FAA and do not create a hazard.

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There are no specific height restrictions for pilots under FAA rules. Flight schools and commercial airlines accept pilots for training as long as they are physically able to reach the controls and obtain a full rudder deflection in the aircraft they will operate.

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Planes are *optimized* to fly at certain heights to maximize the efficiency of their engines and their fuel consumption. So jet planes can fly a lot higher than propeller planes, so they do. They fly between 20,000 feet and 40,000 feet because they are designed and optimized to do just that.

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Aircraft must fly over residential areas because of the small distances between some airports and neighborhoods. Therefore, it is sometimes necessary for aircraft to fly over these residential areas in order for aircraft to safely reach the airports.

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There are no specific regulations governing civil aircraft operations beyond the altitude of 60,000 feet. Nevertheless, certain exceptional aircraft like the Concorde and the Tupolev Tu-144 have managed to ascend to altitudes of FL600 (equivalent to 60,000 feet).

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For best protection, you are encouraged to use supplemental oxygen above 10,000 feet MSL. At night, because vision is particularly sensitive to diminished oxygen, a prudent rule is to use supplemental oxygen when flying above 6,000 feet MSL. So, when you fly at high altitudes, supplemental oxygen is the only solution.

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A series of Navy and Air Force programs in the 1950s and 1960s used pressure vessels or pressure suits to get balloonists higher, some to above 100,000 feet. Skydiver Nicholas Piantanida set an unofficial record—123,500 feet—in 1966, but a later attempt went awry when his helmet depressurized.

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A major reason for flying at that altitude is money; After labor, fuel is the greatest expense for airlines. That's why airlines are constantly working to maximize their fuel efficiency. Cruising at 36,000 feet helps with that. The higher altitude means thinner air.

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Severe turbulence, he added, is “quite rare — only 0.1% of the atmosphere at 40,000 feet has severe turbulence in it, so if you're on a plane it's very unlikely that your plane will hit that 0.1%.” “However, given the number of planes in the skies, one of them will.

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