Who owns the airspace over your backyard? In theory, everyone. The Federal Aviation Act of 1958 declared that "a citizen of the United States has a public right of transit through the navigable airspace." That is, everywhere above the trees and buildings.
But it's up to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to set the rules of that navigation. While most of the land area in America is uncontrolled airspace, most of the land where people live falls under controlled airspace, thanks to the amount of air traffic flowing through.
