Search your ZIP code or city, then tap your house on the map.
Search your ZIP code or city, then tap your house on the map. The checker looks at months of recorded flights below 10,000 feet and tells you how much of an average day planes are over your half-mile square, how high they usually fly, which wind directions bring them over, and how far you are from the nearest regular path. It covers 94 areas around U.S. airports so far.
How to read your result
“Minutes a day” adds up every moment a plane was over your square on an average day, so it reflects both how many planes pass and how long each one takes to cross. For the colors and the verdict, planes above 4,000 feet count less, because they’re much quieter on the ground, so the low, loud paths stand out.
Why flight paths move
The wind decides most of it. Planes take off and land into the wind, so when the wind changes direction the airport switches runways, and the arrival and departure paths move to different neighborhoods. A street that’s quiet most of the week can be busy when the wind turns.
Arrivals and departures are different. Arriving planes line up on long, straight, low paths many miles out. Departing planes climb faster and spread out sooner, so they’re loud close to the airport but higher a few miles away.
Routes change over time. The FAA sometimes redesigns arrival and departure procedures, and airports add or rebuild runways. If you’re planning to stay for years, ask the airport about anything planned.
Buying a home near an airport? Check these too
- Visit at different times, including early morning, evening, and a day when the wind is blowing from a different direction.
- Look at the airport’s noise maps. Many airports publish noise contour maps as part of the FAA’s noise program, and some offer sound insulation for homes inside them.
- Call the airport’s noise office. They can tell you about planned runway work or route changes. Find your airport’s noise office →
- Watch it live. See the planes overhead right now, or check your town’s page for which way the airports are landing today.
Read the full home buyer’s guide: noise, home value, disclosures and how to make it quieter →
Who decides where planes fly?
The FAA designs the routes in and out of each airport, and air traffic controllers guide every flight along them, keeping planes safely apart and moving them around weather and other traffic. If planes fly over your house, there’s a controller working each one. Their wall is one tap away in your result.
Common questions
How can I tell if my house is under a flight path?
Search your ZIP code or city above, then tap your house on the map. The checker shows how much of an average day planes are over that half-mile square, how high they usually fly, which wind directions bring them over, and how far the nearest regular path is.
What counts as a flight path?
Planes don’t fly on fixed roads in the sky, but near busy airports they follow the same arrival and departure routes over and over, so certain neighborhoods see planes many times a day. The shaded squares on the map are the places recorded flights crossed most often below 10,000 feet.
Why do planes fly over my house some days and not others?
Planes take off and land into the wind, so when the wind changes direction the airport switches runways, and the arrival and departure paths move to different neighborhoods. That’s why the checker shows which wind days are busiest for your spot.
How high do planes fly over my house?
It depends on how far you are from the airport and whether planes are arriving or departing. The checker shows the usual height recorded over your spot. Planes on final approach a few miles out are often 1,000 to 2,000 feet up.
Should I check flight paths before buying a house?
It’s a good idea. Use this checker, visit the house at different times and on days with different winds, look at the airport’s noise maps, and ask the airport’s noise office about any planned runway or route changes.
Which areas does the checker cover?
Right now it covers 94 areas around U.S. airports: Atlanta, Dallas–Fort Worth, Denver, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, Las Vegas, Orlando, Miami–Fort Lauderdale, Charlotte, Seattle, Phoenix, San Francisco, Houston, Boston, Minneapolis–St. Paul, Detroit, Philadelphia, Salt Lake City, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., San Diego, Tampa Bay, Nashville, Austin, Honolulu, Dallas, Portland, Oregon, St. Louis, Raleigh–Durham, Sacramento, New Orleans, San Jose, Orange County, Kansas City, San Antonio, the East Bay, Fort Myers, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, Columbus, Cincinnati, Jacksonville, San Juan, Palm Beach, the Inland Empire, Maui, Burbank, Hartford, Charleston, Milwaukee, Anchorage, Albuquerque, Omaha, Buffalo, Boise, Richmond, Norfolk, Memphis, Reno, Louisville, Oklahoma City, Sarasota, El Paso, Grand Rapids, Spokane, Long Beach, Kona, Savannah, Providence, Tucson, Myrtle Beach, Kauai, Knoxville, Tulsa, Palm Springs, Birmingham, Des Moines, Pensacola, Albany, Syracuse, Sanford, Greenville–Spartanburg, Rochester, Bozeman, Fresno, Colorado Springs, St. Petersburg–Clearwater, Portland, Maine, Westchester, Destin–Fort Walton Beach, Madison, Little Rock. More are being added.