7-4-1 General
AIM Chapter 7. Safety of Flight — Section 7-4, Wake Turbulence
Official text — AIM 7-4-1
AIM — FAA OPERATIONAL GUIDANCEa. Every aircraft generates wake turbulence while in flight. Wake turbulence is a function of an aircraft producing lift, resulting in the formation of two counter-rotating vortices trailing behind the aircraft.
b. Wake turbulence from the generating aircraft can affect encountering aircraft due to the strength, duration, and direction of the vortices. Wake turbulence can impose rolling moments exceeding the roll-control authority of encountering aircraft, causing possible injury to occupants and damage to aircraft. Pilots should always be aware of the possibility of a wake turbulence encounter when flying through the wake of another aircraft, and adjust the flight path accordingly.
Reproduced from the FAA Aeronautical Information Manual (Basic (with Change 3)). The AIM is FAA guidance, not regulation. Verify against the official source before relying on it operationally.
Is this a regulation?
No — this is FAA guidance, not a regulation.
Aeronautical Information Manual. FAA operational guidance and recommended practices. The AIM is not regulatory, although it often explains how to comply with regulations.