"Gary Drescher" wrote in message
...
I don't think there's anything in the FARs themselves that would let a
pilot conclude that following ATC instructions is secondary to complying
with the other FARs.

FAR 91.3 grants the final authority for the flight to the pilot. The FAA is
very clear on the point that a controller is not the one flying the
airplane, and that the pilot is expected to make correct decisions even in
the face of ATC instructions that are unreasonable or don't make sense.

That's not the way analogous situations work when driving a car, for
example; there, police directives do take precedence over the traffic laws
that would otherwise hold

Actually, it is analogous. For example, if you are parked on the side of
the road, and a police officer instructs you to pull out in front of an
oncoming car, you are not required to comply. It would be unsafe, and would
violate your legal requirement to yield to traffic when entering the
roadway.

Generally speaking, you are required to comply with a police officer's
instruction only so long as it would not cause you to break any other law.
The police officer does not have the authority to waive laws.

Pete