# Can you give a pilot or plane a speeding ticket? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 30, 2009, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-give-a-pilot-or-plane-a-speeding-ticket/508256 "2009-08-30T14:38:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-give-a-pilot-or-plane-a-speeding-ticket/508256/1 "2009-08-30T14:38:08Z")
So you’re a police officer on traffic duty. You’re standing there with your radar / laser gun trying to catch speeding motorists. Right in front of you, a plane lands. It touches down on the road at a speed well over the posted limit. Do you give the pilot a speeding ticket? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-give-a-pilot-or-plane-a-speeding-ticket/508256/2 "2009-08-30T14:57:01Z")
Generally speaking, airplanes don’t land on roads unless there is an emergency. FAR 91.3(b) allows a pilot to deviate from any rule of Part 91 to the extent required to meet that emergency. So the pilot is covered under the regulations if landing on a road is necessary to meet the emergency. Since aircraft are operated under Federal rules, I don’t think a traffic cop would have jurisdiction. (Also, many airplanes can land at speeds lower than the posted limits on many roads.) There are speed limits though. I’d have to look them up, because I’ve never flown anything fast enough to be affected by them. IIRC it’s something like 200 knots for piston-powered aircraft under 10,000 feet, and 250 knots for turbine-powered aircraft under 10,000 feet. Not sure about the airspace classification. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-give-a-pilot-or-plane-a-speeding-ticket/508256/3 "2009-08-30T15:00:19Z")
Found it. > [@](#): > > **Sec. 91.117 - Aircraft speed.** > > (a) Unless otherwise authorized by the Administrator, no person may operate an aircraft below 10,000 feet MSL at an indicated airspeed of more than 250 knots (288 m.p.h.). > > (b) Unless otherwise authorized or required by ATC, no person may operate an aircraft at or below 2,500 feet above the surface within 4 nautical miles of the primary airport of a Class C or Class D airspace area at an indicated airspeed of more than 200 knots (230 mph.). This paragraph (b) does not apply to any operations within a Class B airspace area. Such operations shall comply with paragraph (a) of this section. > > (c) No person may operate an aircraft in the airspace underlying a Class B airspace area designated for an airport or in a VFR corridor designated through such a Class B airspace area, at an indicated airspeed of more than 200 knots (230 mph). > > (d) If the minimum safe airspeed for any particular operation is greater than the maximum speed prescribed in this section, the aircraft may be operated at that minimum speed. The piston/turbine distinction I remembered may be from the time when I got my license. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-give-a-pilot-or-plane-a-speeding-ticket/508256/4 "2009-08-30T17:59:53Z")
Only if you want to make the national news as an idiot. ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-give-a-pilot-or-plane-a-speeding-ticket/508256/5 "2009-08-30T18:09:38Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Only if you want to make the national news as an idiot. Also, tasering the pilot after he gets annoyed at you for asking him to get out in the middle of an emergency and makng sure it gets video taped is a plus. ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-give-a-pilot-or-plane-a-speeding-ticket/508256/6 "2009-08-30T18:20:35Z")
Obligatory speeding joke: Police officer pulls over a driver who is going insanely fast. Driver innocently asks “Was I driving too fast, officer?” Cop replies “Hell no, you were flying too low”. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-give-a-pilot-or-plane-a-speeding-ticket/508256/7 "2009-08-30T18:47:50Z")
I’m working right now, but I’ll come back later to tell about the time I was kinda-sorta pulled over in my airplane. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-give-a-pilot-or-plane-a-speeding-ticket/508256/8 "2009-08-30T18:54:30Z")
> [@Mach Tuck](#): > > I’m working right now, but I’ll come back later to tell about the time I was kinda-sorta pulled over in my airplane. My mom used to work for an FBO at MYF. One day (in the early-to-mid-'70s) she told me of an airplane that made a precautionary/emergency landing on a road. The pilot decided to taxi to the airport. When the tower called and asked him his position, he said, ‘Holding for a traffic light.’ 😛 ISTR there was a ticket involved, probably for operating a non-road-registered vehicle on a public road. No way to find out now, of course. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-give-a-pilot-or-plane-a-speeding-ticket/508256/9 "2009-08-30T19:58:06Z")
There is an air park outside of Sacramento, to the East. There, you can land your plane at the airport, then taxi to your home, using the streets. Presumably, you could be ticketed in such a case for exceeding the posted speed limit. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-give-a-pilot-or-plane-a-speeding-ticket/508256/10 "2009-08-30T22:00:10Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > My mom used to work for an FBO at MYF. One day (in the early-to-mid-'70s) she told me of an airplane that made a precautionary/emergency landing on a road. The pilot decided to taxi to the airport. When the tower called and asked him his position, he said, ‘Holding for a traffic light.’ 😛 Slightly off-tangent - if you flying into the Southbend, Indiana airport to visit the Flight Standards District Office (FSDO) you will be directed to the side of the building for airplane parking (car/truck/motorcycle parking being on the other). In order to get there from the runways, however, you will need to cross the tracks of the South Shore and South Bend Rail Road. This is much like any railroad crossing you might find on a road, except the lanes/barriers are extra wide to accommodate wingspans. On the one occasion I and an examiner were on our way to an appointment there said examiner had to call the FSDO on his cell phone and explain we would be delayed until the train parked in the crossing decided to move. Apparently a somewhat common delay, but not a long one, fortunately. “Holding for a train”. The helicopter guys, of course, can just hop over such obstacles, right Johnny? The other trick to the whole thing is that the same crossing is also used by ground vehicles and the occasional pedestrian. Fortunately, traffic is not heavy but one must maintain alertness. Folks on the commuter trains who are not familiar with the crossing, however, have been known to weird out if they look out the window into a whirling prop or small jet intake. Everything is at safe distances, but it’s a much closer view and from a different angle than most are accustomed to seeing. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-give-a-pilot-or-plane-a-speeding-ticket/508256/11 "2009-08-30T22:01:13Z")
> [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > There is an air park outside of Sacramento, to the East. There, you can land your plane at the airport, then taxi to your home, using the streets. Presumably, you could be ticketed in such a case for exceeding the posted speed limit. There are quite a few of such airparks in the US. The speed limit would have to apply to a taxiing airplane, as take off and landing speeds are dictated by physics and not by signage. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-give-a-pilot-or-plane-a-speeding-ticket/508256/12 "2009-08-30T22:03:59Z")
> [@Mach Tuck](#): > > I’m working right now, but I’ll come back later to tell about the time I was kinda-sorta pulled over in my airplane. Yes, please do tell. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-give-a-pilot-or-plane-a-speeding-ticket/508256/13 "2009-08-30T22:11:52Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > The helicopter guys, of course, can just hop over such obstacles, right Johnny? It’s never come up for me. Generally, helicopters have to avoid the flow of fixed-wings. At VNY take-offs and landings were done from the taxiway. I’ve had to hold at parking until planes passed, and planes have had to hold on the taxiway until I took off or landed. At WJF the instructions were to land on any non-movement part of the airport (i.e., not the runway or taxiway). Helicopters ‘hover taxi’ or ‘air taxi’. A hover taxi is below 25’ and is used for short distances. An air taxi is below 100’ and is used for greater distances. (Basically, a hover taxi is IGE and an air taxi is actually flying OGE.) ---
**Author:** ![Mike.V](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Mike.V](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mike.V)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-give-a-pilot-or-plane-a-speeding-ticket/508256/14 "2009-08-30T22:12:14Z")
[Here’s a story](http://www.theledger.com/article/20090420/news/904205036?Title=Engine-Out-Plane-Lands-On-Havendale-Boulevard) (with cockpit video) from April of a plane landing on a public road in Florida. It looks like they’re going over the speed limit when they land, but all that’s said about the local police is: > [@](#): > > Deputies were called to the scene, but there wasn’t much for them to do. Officials from the National Transportation Safety Board cleared the incident, Wood said. and from [ABC](http://www.abcactionnews.com/news/local/story/Emergency-landing-caught-on-tape-in-Winter-Haven/0S0dIzBcV0mhXCMvR5Fc5w.cspx) > [@](#): > > Deputies were called to the scene, but had little to do since no there was no damage or injuries involved. ---
**Author:** ![ChrisBooth12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@ChrisBooth12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChrisBooth12)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-give-a-pilot-or-plane-a-speeding-ticket/508256/15 "2009-08-30T23:08:51Z")
> [@Mike.V](#): > > [Here’s a story](http://www.theledger.com/article/20090420/news/904205036?Title=Engine-Out-Plane-Lands-On-Havendale-Boulevard) (with cockpit video) from April of a plane landing on a public road in Florida. It looks like they’re going over the speed limit when they land, but all that’s said about the local police is: > > and from [ABC](http://www.abcactionnews.com/news/local/story/Emergency-landing-caught-on-tape-in-Winter-Haven/0S0dIzBcV0mhXCMvR5Fc5w.cspx) I have to ask..How are these planes removed? Are they just loaded onto a truck and driven back to a runway? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-give-a-pilot-or-plane-a-speeding-ticket/508256/16 "2009-08-30T23:23:59Z")
> [@ChrisBooth12](#): > > I have to ask..How are these planes removed? Are they just loaded onto a truck and driven back to a runway? If there is no damage and the problem can be repaired, and if there is sufficient room for a safe takeoff, authorities can close the road and the airplane can simply fly away. Otherwise it might be taxied or towed to the airport, or it can be loaded intact onto a flatbed truck on a closed road. My WAG is that most are loaded onto a truck after the wings have been removed and carted away. Another guess is that even if there is sufficient space for the takeoff of a repaired airplane, most times authorities are not going to allow it to take off from the road because if anything else happens the aircraft may crash into a building. Probably more likely the more remote the area. As for the video: The airplane involved was a Skyranger. It has a ‘dirty’ stall speed of 33 mph, and a ‘clean’ stall speed of 41 mph. It can take off in 350 feet, and land in 450 feet. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2009, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-give-a-pilot-or-plane-a-speeding-ticket/508256/17 "2009-08-31T02:02:57Z")
I have twice landed my sailplane on a not-yet-open stretch of highway; in both cases without damage or problems. The cops were good with it. I know of several cases where sailplane pilots have landed on active highways. In one case a cop got very excited, threatened arrest, etc. until another cop came and got him calmed down. I’ve never heard of a speeding ticket being issued. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2009, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-give-a-pilot-or-plane-a-speeding-ticket/508256/18 "2009-08-31T15:33:23Z")
> [@tr0psn4j](#): > > Also, tasering the pilot after he gets annoyed at you for asking him to get out in the middle of an emergency and makng sure it gets video taped is a plus. Is there a news story that I’m missing? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2009, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-give-a-pilot-or-plane-a-speeding-ticket/508256/19 "2009-08-31T16:12:48Z")
There was a movie or TV show awhile back with a Space Shuttle having to make an emergency landing on a highway. Imagine the tickets the cops could’ve written after _that!_ ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2009, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-give-a-pilot-or-plane-a-speeding-ticket/508256/20 "2009-08-31T16:57:03Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > There are quite a few of such airparks in the US. The speed limit would have to apply to a taxiing airplane, as take off and landing speeds are dictated by physics and not by signage. Obviously, since the speed limits would be applicable to the streets, not the runways. :smack: [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-give-a-pilot-or-plane-a-speeding-ticket/508256.md?page=2)