When Are Seat Belts and Shoulder Harnesses Required to Be Worn? What 91.107 States

What 91.107 Actually Says

Title 14 CFR 91.107 is one of the shorter regulations in Part 91, but it carries real weight on your checkride and in the real world. The rule requires that every person aboard a U.S.-registered civil aircraft must be seated in an approved seat or berth with a safety belt properly secured during taxi, takeoff, and landing. That list of three phases of flight is important — and we will come back to it in a moment.

Beyond seat belts, 91.107 also addresses shoulder harnesses. If a shoulder harness is installed and required as part of the aircraft's equipment, it must be worn during takeoff and landing — not just available, not just buckled loosely, but actually worn. Many pilots know their aircraft has a shoulder harness and leave it at that. The regulation expects more: it must be in use during the critical phases of flight when the risk of injury from an abrupt stop or impact is highest.

The Most Common Mistakes Student Pilots Make on This Question

The single most frequent stumble on this checkride question is answering that seat belts are required only during takeoff and landing. Taxi is right there in the regulation, and examiners notice when candidates leave it out. Ground collisions, runway incursions, and abrupt stops on the taxiway are real hazards — 91.107 reflects that reality by requiring occupants to be buckled before the aircraft ever moves.

A second common gap is forgetting who bears the responsibility for passenger briefings. The pilot in command is required to ensure that each passenger has been briefed on the use of safety belts before the flight begins. That responsibility does not fall on the passenger, the flight school, or anyone else — it sits squarely with the PIC. Simply telling someone to buckle up does not constitute an adequate briefing. A proper briefing explains how to fasten and unfasten the belt, when it must be worn, and for passengers who may be unfamiliar with small aircraft, where the latch is located and how it operates.

Third, many students treat shoulder harnesses as a passive piece of equipment. If the aircraft is equipped with them and they are required equipment under the aircraft's type certificate or airworthiness standards, they must be worn during takeoff and landing — full stop. Knowing that harnesses are installed is not the same as complying with the regulation.

How Smart PICs Apply This Regulation in Practice

The most effective way to stay compliant and build good habits is to work seat belt checks into your flow before the aircraft moves. Verify that every occupant is secured before you release the parking brake. Make it part of your before-taxi checklist, not an afterthought. Before each takeoff, confirm again — this is especially important on cross-country flights with multiple legs, where passengers sometimes loosen their belts during cruise and forget to refasten them.

Your passenger briefing should be deliberate. Walk through how the belt fastens and releases, explain that it must stay fastened during taxi, takeoff, and landing, and encourage passengers to keep it on throughout the flight when practicable. The FAA strongly recommends that infants and small children be secured in an approved child restraint system rather than held in a lap — a point worth including in your briefing if you are flying with young passengers. While 91.107 requires that every occupant have a safety belt available and be briefed on its use, going beyond the minimum is always the safer approach.

Shoulder harnesses deserve a specific callout in your briefing as well. Show passengers how to adjust the harness, confirm it is snug before takeoff, and remind them before landing if they have loosened it during cruise. A harness that is technically buckled but hanging loosely provides far less protection than one worn correctly.

How to Frame Your Answer for the Examiner

When your designated pilot examiner asks about 91.107, they are listening for three things: the correct phases of flight, the PIC briefing responsibility, and the shoulder harness requirement. A strong answer sounds something like this: under 91.107, all occupants must have their safety belts fastened during taxi, takeoff, and landing. Shoulder harnesses, where installed and required, must be worn during takeoff and landing. As PIC, I am responsible for briefing every passenger on seat belt use before flight and for ensuring everyone is secured before we move.

That answer is concise, hits all the regulatory checkpoints, and demonstrates that you understand the spirit of the rule — not just the letter of it. Examiners respond well to candidates who can connect a regulation to how it shapes their actual behavior as a pilot.

Regulations like 91.107 may seem straightforward, but the details matter on checkride day and every flight after. If you want to practice questions like this in a realistic oral exam format, try SimulatedCheckride.com.