Flight Crew
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Aircrew, also called flight crew, are personnel who operate an
aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines ...
while in flight. The composition of a flight's crew depends on the type of aircraft, plus the flight's duration and purpose.


Commercial aviation


Flight deck positions

In
commercial aviation Commercial aviation is the part of civil aviation that involves operating aircraft for remuneration or hire, as opposed to private aviation. Definition Commercial aviation is not a rigorously defined category. All commercial air transport and ae ...
, the aircrew are called ''flight crew''. Some flight crew position names are derived from nautical terms and indicate a rank or command structure similar to that on ocean-going vessels, allowing for quick executive decision making during normal operations or emergency situations. Historical
flightdeck The flight deck of an aircraft carrier is the surface from which its aircraft take off and land, essentially a miniature airfield at sea. On smaller naval ships which do not have aviation as a primary mission, the landing area for helicopters ...
positions include: *
Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
, the
pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...
highest-ranking member or members of a flight crew. * First officer (FO, also called a co-pilot), another pilot who is normally seated to the right of the captain. (On helicopters, an FO is normally seated to the left of the captain, who occupies the right-hand seat).UK Civil Aviation Authority CAP804
/ref>Smith, Patrick
Patrick Smith's Ask The Pilot: When a Pilot Dies in Flight
AskThePilot.com website, 2013, which in turn cites: *Smith, Patrick
Cockpit Confidential: Everything You Need to Know About Air Travel: Questions, Answers, and Reflections
Sourcebooks, 2013, , .
* Second officer (SO), a person lower in rank to the first officer, and who typically performs selected duties and also acts as a relief pilot. The rank of second officer was traditionally a flight engineer, who was often the person who handled the engine controls. In the 21st century, second officers on some airlines are pilots who act as "cruise relief" on long haul flights.Lowery, John
Pan American Airways Conquers Global Travel
in ''Flying the World in Clipper Ships''. Retrieved from flightjournal.com
* Third officer (TO), a person lower in rank to a second officer, and who typically performs selected duties and can also act as a relief pilot. Largely redundant in the present day. * ' Relief Crew' members in the present day are fully licensed and trained captains and first officers who accompany long-haul airline flights, and who relieve the primary pilots during designated times from the commercial operator or consented portions between the two crews to provide them with the opportunities for rest or sleep breaks to avoid the risk of
pilot fatigue The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) defines fatigue as "A physiological state of reduced mental or physical performance capability resulting from sleep loss or extended wakefulness, circadian phase, or workload." The phenomenon p ...
(some large wide-body airliners are equipped with special pilot sleeper berths, but more typically reserved seats in the section closest to the flight deck, or cockpit, are used for the relief crew). A relief crew will take over most predominantly during the middle portions of a flight when an aircraft is usually on
autopilot An autopilot is a system used to control the path of an aircraft, marine craft or spacecraft without requiring constant manual control by a human operator. Autopilots do not replace human operators. Instead, the autopilot assists the operator' ...
and at cruising altitude. The number of relief crew members assigned to a flight depends in part on the length of the flight and the official air regulations the airline operates under. *
Flight Engineer A flight engineer (FE), also sometimes called an air engineer, is the member of an aircraft's flight crew who monitors and operates its complex aircraft systems. In the early era of aviation, the position was sometimes referred to as the "air me ...
(FE), a position originally called an 'Air Mechanic'. On older aircraft, typically between the late-1920s and the 1970s, the flight engineer was the crew member responsible for engines, systems and fuel management. As aircraft became increasingly sophisticated and automated, this function has been mostly assumed by the primary pilots (Captain and FO), resulting in a continued downsizing in the number of aircrew positions on commercial flights. The flight engineer's position is commonly staffed as a second officer. Flight engineers can still be found in the present day (in greatly diminished numbers), used on airline or air freight operations still flying such older aircraft. The position is typically crewed by a dual-licensed Pilot-Flight Engineer in the present day.Cox, John
Ask the Captain: What does the flight engineer do?
''
USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
'', March 23, 2014. Retrieved August 14, 2014.
Eldridge, Andrea
Confessions of a Flight Engineer: Flashlights, timers, and breath mints required
'' Air & Space Smithsonian magazine'', November 2011.
*
Airborne Sensor Operator An airborne sensor operator (aerial sensor operator, ASO, Aerial Remote Sensing Data Acquisition Specialist, Aerial Payload Operator, Police Tactical Flight Officer, Tactical Coordinator etc.) is the functional profession of gathering information ...
, An airborne sensor operator (aerial sensor operator, ASO, Aerial Remote Sensing Data Acquisition Specialist, Aerial Payload Operator, Police Tactical Flight Officer, Tactical Coordinator etc.) is the functional profession of gathering information from an airborne platform (Manned or Unmanned) and/or oversee mission management systems for academic, commercial, public safety or military remote sensing purposes. The airborne sensor operator is considered a principal flight crew or aircrew member.Law Officer
, October 30, 2008. Retrieved February 21, 2016
*
Navigator A navigator is the person on board a ship or aircraft responsible for its navigation.Grierson, MikeAviation History—Demise of the Flight Navigator FrancoFlyers.org website, October 14, 2008. Retrieved August 31, 2014. The navigator's primar ...
(archaic), also called 'Air Navigators' or 'Flight Navigators'. A position on older aircraft, typically between the late-1910s and the 1970s, where separate crew members (sometimes two navigation crew members) were often responsible for the flight navigation, including its
dead reckoning In navigation, dead reckoning is the process of calculating current position of some moving object by using a previously determined position, or fix, and then incorporating estimates of speed, heading direction, and course over elapsed time. ...
and
celestial navigation Celestial navigation, also known as astronavigation, is the practice of position fixing using stars and other celestial bodies that enables a navigator to accurately determine their actual current physical position in space (or on the surface of ...
, especially when flown over oceans or other featureless areas where radio navigation aids were not originally available. As sophisticated electronic air navigation aids and universal space-based GPS navigation systems came online, the dedicated Navigator's position was discontinued and its function was assumed by dual-licensed Pilot-Navigators, and still later by the aircraft's primary pilots (Captain and FO), resulting in a continued downsizing in the number of aircrew positions on commercial flights. Modern electronic navigation systems made the navigator redundant by the early 1980s.Grierson, Mike
Aviation History—Demise of the Flight Navigator
FrancoFlyers.org website, October 14, 2008. Retrieved August 31, 2014.
* Radio Operator (archaic). A position on much older aircraft, typically between the mid-1910s and the 1940s, where a separate crew member was often responsible for handling
telegraphic Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...
and voice radio communications between the aircraft and ground stations. As radio sets became increasingly sophisticated and easier to operate, the function was taken over directly by a FO or SO, and still later by the pilot-in-command and co-pilot, making the radio operator's position redundant.Ennis, E.E
Wireless Telegraphy from an Aeroplane
''Journal of Electricity, Power and Gas'', April 1, 1911, pp. 279–280


Cabin positions

Aircraft cabin An aircraft cabin is the section of an aircraft in which passengers travel. Most modern commercial aircraft are pressurized, as cruising altitudes are high enough such that the surrounding atmosphere is too thin for passengers and crew to bre ...
crew members can consist of: *
Purser A purser is the person on a ship principally responsible for the handling of money on board. On modern merchant ships, the purser is the officer responsible for all administration (including the ship's cargo and passenger manifests) and supply. ...
or ''In-flight Service Manager or Cabin Services Director'', is responsible for the cabin crew as a team leader. *
Flight attendant A flight attendant, also known as steward/stewardess or air host/air hostess, is a member of the aircrew aboard commercial flights, many business jets and some government aircraft. Collectively called cabin crew, flight attendants are prima ...
or ''Cabin Crew'', is the crew member responsible for the safety of passengers. Historically during the early era of commercial aviation, the position was staffed by young 'cabin boys' who assisted passengers. Cabin boys were replaced by female nurses, originally called 'stewardesses'. The medical background requirement for the flight attendant position was later dropped.Harris 2001, p. 4. *
Flight medic A flight paramedic is a paramedic who provides care to sick and injured patients in an aeromedical environment. Typically a flight paramedic works with a registered nurse, physician, respiratory therapist, or another paramedic. Flight paramedics mu ...
, is a specialized
paramedic A paramedic is a registered healthcare professional who works autonomously across a range of health and care settings and may specialise in clinical practice, as well as in education, leadership, and research. Not all ambulance personnel are p ...
employed on
air ambulance Air medical services is a comprehensive term covering the use of air transportation, aeroplane or helicopter, to move patients to and from healthcare facilities and accident scenes. Personnel provide comprehensive prehospital and emergency and cri ...
aircraft or flights. *
Loadmaster A loadmaster is an aircrew member on civilian aircraft or military transport aircraft tasked with the safe loading, transport and unloading of aerial cargoes. Loadmasters serve in the militaries and civilian airlines of many nations. Duties ...
, is a crew member on a
cargo aircraft A cargo aircraft (also known as freight aircraft, freighter, airlifter or cargo jet) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is designed or converted for the carriage of air cargo, cargo rather than passenger aircraft, passengers. Such aircraft usually ...
responsible for loading freight and personnel, and for calculating the aircraft's
weight and balance The center of gravity (CG) of an aircraft is the point over which the aircraft would balance. Its position is calculated after supporting the aircraft on at least two sets of weighing scales or load cells and noting the weight shown on each set ...
prior to flight, which must be within the aircraft manufacturer's prescribed limits, for safe flight. On non-cargo aircraft, weight and balance tasks are performed by the flight crew.


Military

From the start of
military aviation Military aviation comprises military aircraft and other flying machines for the purposes of conducting or enabling aerial warfare, including national airlift ( air cargo) capacity to provide logistical supply to forces stationed in a war the ...
, additional crew members have flown on military aircraft. Over time these duties have expanded: *
Pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...
* Co-pilot * Air gunner, crew member responsible for the operation of defensive weapons, for example gun turrets. Specific positions include
nose gunner A nose is a protuberance in vertebrates that houses the nostrils, or nares, which receive and expel air for respiration alongside the mouth. Behind the nose are the olfactory mucosa and the sinuses. Behind the nasal cavity, air next passes thr ...
,
door gunner A door gunner is a crewman tasked with firing and maintaining manually directed armament aboard a military helicopter. The actual role will vary depending on the task given on a particular mission. For certain aircraft a door gunner would use a ...
and
tail gunner A tail gunner or rear gunner is a crewman on a military aircraft who functions as a gunner defending against enemy fighter or interceptor attacks from the rear, or "tail", of the plane. The tail gunner operates a flexible machine gun or aut ...
* Bombardier or Bomb Aimer is a crew member for the release of ordnance, particularly bombs. * Boom operator, an aircrew member on tanker aircraft responsible for operating the flying boom and the transfer of fuel. * Combat systems officer * Airborne Mission Systems Specialist, an aircrew member who operates some form of electronic or other type equipment such as computers, radars, or intelligence gathering equipment to assist or complete the aircraft's mission. *
Airborne Sensor Operator An airborne sensor operator (aerial sensor operator, ASO, Aerial Remote Sensing Data Acquisition Specialist, Aerial Payload Operator, Police Tactical Flight Officer, Tactical Coordinator etc.) is the functional profession of gathering information ...
, An airborne sensor operator (Aerial Sensor Operator, Tactical Coordinator, EWO etc.) is the functional profession of gathering information from an airborne platform (Manned or Unmanned) and/or oversee mission management systems for tactical, operational and strategic remote sensing purposes. * Crew chief, an enlisted aircraft mechanic with many various responsibilities. Primary among those are aircraft maintenance, pre-flight/postflight inspections, passenger management, acting as a doorgunner, in-air fire fighting, airspace surveillance, assisting the pilots to land the aircraft in difficult landing zones, assisting pilots with engine start up and shutdown safety, fuel checks, monitoring "hot" refuels (refueling with engines running). *
Flight attendant A flight attendant, also known as steward/stewardess or air host/air hostess, is a member of the aircrew aboard commercial flights, many business jets and some government aircraft. Collectively called cabin crew, flight attendants are prima ...
, a crew member who tends to passengers on military aircraft. This position is similar to the duties performed by commercial flight attendants. *
Flight engineer A flight engineer (FE), also sometimes called an air engineer, is the member of an aircraft's flight crew who monitors and operates its complex aircraft systems. In the early era of aviation, the position was sometimes referred to as the "air me ...
, a crew member responsible for engines, systems and fuel management. *
Flight officer The title flight officer was a military rank used by the United States Army Air Forces during World War II, and also an air force rank in several Commonwealth countries, where it was used for female officers and was equivalent to the rank of fligh ...
*
Flight surgeon A flight surgeon is a military medical officer practicing in the clinical field of aviation medicine. Although the term "flight surgery" is considered improper by purists, it may occasionally be encountered. Flight surgeons are physicians ( MD ...
or
flight nurse A flight nurse is a registered nurse who specialises in the field of providing comprehensive pre-hospital, emergency critical care, and hospital care to a vast scope of patients. The care of these patients is generally during aeromedical evacua ...
, aerial medical staff not involved in the operation of the aircraft but is considered by some militaries to be aircrew. *
Loadmaster A loadmaster is an aircrew member on civilian aircraft or military transport aircraft tasked with the safe loading, transport and unloading of aerial cargoes. Loadmasters serve in the militaries and civilian airlines of many nations. Duties ...
, crew member responsible for loading freight and personnel and the weight and balance of the aircraft. *
Navigator A navigator is the person on board a ship or aircraft responsible for its navigation.Grierson, MikeAviation History—Demise of the Flight Navigator FrancoFlyers.org website, October 14, 2008. Retrieved August 31, 2014. The navigator's primar ...
, a crew member responsible for air navigation. Still actively trained and licensed in some present day militaries, as electronic navigation aids can not be assumed to be operational during warfare. *
Air observer An air observer or aerial observer is an aircrew member whose duties are predominantly reconnaissance. The term originated in the First World War in the British Royal Flying Corps, and was maintained by its successor, the Royal Air Force. An ai ...
*
Rescue swimmer Rescue swimmer is a designation given to rescue specialists, most commonly in the service of the military. Rescue swimmers usually are charged with the rescue, assessment, and rendering of medical aid to persons in distress in the sea, on the land ...
on air-sea rescue aircraft * Air
Signaller A signaller, signalman, colloquially referred to as a radioman or signaleer in the armed forces is a specialist soldier, sailor or airman responsible for military communications. Signallers, a.k.a. Combat Signallers or signalmen or women, are ...
or radio operator, crew member responsible for the operation of the aircraft communications systems. *
Tactical coordinator A Tactical Coordinator (Tacco, pronounced 'TACK-oh') is the aircrew member responsible for coordinating the activities of the part of the crew responsible for the tactical operation of the aircraft and its systems. The TACCO may, depending on th ...
(TACCO), Weapon System Officer on board a Maritime Patrol Aircraft. *
Weapon Systems Officer A Weapon Systems Officer (WSO), nicknamed "Wizzo", is an air flight officer directly involved in all air operations and weapon systems of a military aircraft. Historically, aircrew duties in military aircraft were highly specialised and rigi ...
(WSO) Commissioned Aircrew Officer Weapons or Mission System Specialist. * Weapon Systems Operator (WSOp), as above but Enlisted.


See also

* Aircrew Badge *
Groundcrew In all forms of aviation, ground crew (also known as ground operations in civilian aviation) are personnel that service aircraft while on the ground, during routine turn-around; as opposed to aircrew, who operate all aspects of an aircraft whilst ...


References


Citations


Bibliography

* Harris, Tom
How Airline Crews Work
HowStuffWorks.com website, June 14, 2001. Retrieved September 2, 2014.


External links

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