Why are planes flying so low over my house?
Almost always one of three things: your house sits under an approach or departure path, the airport has swapped runway direction because the wind changed, or what you are hearing is a helicopter doing a job that requires low flight. This page explains how to tell which, and why the altitude a flight tracker shows is not the height above your roof.
See what is overhead right now
This asks your browser for your location, queries the live feed, and lists the aircraft within 30 NM. Your position is used for the query and is not stored.
Nothing listed does not mean empty sky. AeroScope only sees aircraft broadcasting ADS-B within range of a volunteer receiver. See limitations.
You are probably under an approach path
An airliner on final approach descends along a glideslope of about three degrees. That works out at roughly 300 feet of height lost per nautical mile, so an aircraft five nautical miles from the runway threshold is somewhere near 1,600 feet above the airport, and one at two miles is near 600 feet. If you live along that line, aircraft will pass over you low, slow and with gear and flaps out, which is also why they sound far louder than a cruising jet at the same apparent distance.
Departures do the same thing in reverse, though they climb more steeply and turn earlier, so the noise moves away faster.
Runway direction follows the wind
This is the part that catches most people out. Aircraft take off and land into the wind wherever they can, so an airport uses its runway in whichever direction the wind favors that day. A runway numbered 09 in one direction is 27 in the other, and the approach paths for those two directions point at completely different neighborhoods.
So your house can sit under the approach for one direction and nowhere near the other. Weeks pass quietly, the wind swings round, and suddenly there is an aircraft overhead every three minutes. Nothing has changed about the airport or its procedures. If the low flights arrived suddenly and the weather also changed, this is very likely the explanation.
The other common cause of a sudden change is runway maintenance, which can push all traffic onto one direction for weeks regardless of wind.
The altitude your tracker shows is not height above your roof
Flight trackers, this one included, report barometric altitude referenced to mean sea level. Your roof is not at sea level. If you live somewhere 1,200 feet above sea level and the tracker shows an aircraft at 3,000 feet, it is passing about 1,800 feet above you, not 3,000.
Two more things worth knowing before you judge a number. Barometric altitude is derived from air pressure and is set against a standard pressure datum above the transition altitude, so it can differ from true height by a few hundred feet on days of unusual pressure. And an aircraft that is banking toward you looks dramatically lower than one flying straight and level at the same altitude.
AeroScope shows geometric altitude alongside barometric where the aircraft broadcasts it, which is GNSS derived and closer to true height. Where the two disagree sharply, that is itself a signal, and it is one of the checks behind the integrity scoring.
How low is legal
In United States airspace, 14 CFR 91.119 sets the floor: 1,000 feet above the highest obstacle within a 2,000 foot horizontal radius over congested areas, and 500 feet above the surface elsewhere, staying 500 feet from any person, vessel, vehicle or structure.
The exception is the one that matters here. Those minimums do not apply when an aircraft is taking off or landing, which is precisely the phase of flight in which most people notice aircraft overhead. An airliner at 800 feet on final approach is not flying illegally low; it is landing.
Helicopters are treated differently again. They may be operated below those minimums if the operation is conducted without hazard to people or property on the surface, which is why a police or medical helicopter can legitimately be much lower than any fixed-wing aircraft you will see.
Rules differ by country. The United Kingdom and most of Europe apply a broadly similar 1,000 foot floor over congested areas under their own regulations.
Low and working, rather than low and passing
🚁 Helicopter, hovering or orbiting
Police, medical, news, powerline and pipeline inspection. If it is holding position rather than transiting, it is working. See helicopter over my house.
🗺️ Straight parallel lines
Aerial survey, mapping or agricultural work. The giveaway is a repeating pattern of long straight passes at a constant low altitude.
🎓 Repeating circuits
Flight training from a nearby general aviation field. Light aircraft flying a rectangular circuit at around 1,000 feet, over and over.
↩️ One low pass then a climb
A go around. The approach was discontinued, for anything from spacing to a gust of wind, and the aircraft is climbing away to try again. Routine, and not a sign of trouble.
Checking it yourself
Use the panel above, or open the live map and set your location. For each aircraft within range you get the type, the operator where it is known, barometric altitude, ground speed, distance and bearing from you, and a transparent attention score. An aircraft descending through 2,000 feet on a steady heading toward a nearby airport is landing, and the map will show that plainly.
Be aware of the limits. AeroScope only sees aircraft that broadcast ADS-B and are within range of a volunteer receiver, so military traffic, most gliders, many older light aircraft and anything with the transponder off will not appear. An empty list is not an empty sky. The limitations page is specific about this.
Frequently asked questions
Why do planes only fly low over my house on some days?
Runway direction follows the wind. Aircraft land and take off into the wind where they can, so an airport swaps the direction it uses as the weather changes. Your house may sit under the approach for one direction and nowhere near the other, which is why quiet weeks are followed by a day of constant overflights.
How low are aircraft actually allowed to fly?
Over congested areas in United States airspace, 1,000 feet above the highest obstacle within 2,000 feet horizontally, and 500 feet above the surface elsewhere. Those minimums do not apply during takeoff and landing, which is when most low overflights happen. Helicopters may go lower if they do so without hazard.
The tracker says 3,000 feet but it looked much lower.
Trackers report altitude above mean sea level, not above your house. Subtract your ground elevation. At 1,200 feet of elevation, an aircraft shown at 3,000 feet is about 1,800 feet above you.
Is a low helicopter over my house a concern?
Usually not. Police, medical, news, survey and utility inspection flights all work legally at low level. A helicopter that is hovering or orbiting is doing a job; one flying straight through is just in transit.
Can I report an aircraft I think was dangerously low?
Yes. In the United States the FAA takes complaints through its regional offices and many airports run their own noise and overflight complaint lines, which is usually the faster route. Note the time, your location and anything you can identify about the aircraft. This site can help you establish what was overhead, but it is not evidence of a violation and makes no airworthiness or regulatory determination.