It is difficult figuring out why there are two people sitting in front of an airliner and what each person does. The mainstream view is that there is a pilot and copilot. The copilot is seen as an apprentice who is only allowed to talk on the radios and read checklists.

As with many outside views of airplanes and airlines, the often used terms and views don’t match what is going on (what we are up to is far more evil). The roles of each pilot has been highly refined from hard-learned safety lessons and has been taught under the concept of crew resource management (CRM).

What are the Positions?

The most visible person in the flight crew is the captain. This person is designated as the pilot in command (PIC) and has authority spelled out by the FAA “The pilot in command of an aircraft is directly responsible for, and is the final authority as to, the operation of that aircraft.” The captain sits in the left seat and is in charge of the airplane.

The first officer sits in the right seat and is designated as the second in command (SIC). The first officer is fully qualified to fly the airplane and will assume authority of the airplane if the captain decides they don’t like consciousness.

Flight engineers are becoming a rarity as airlines retire three crew airplanes. In fact, you’ll only find airplanes requiring three pilots flying cargo in the United States. Flight engineers usually sit sideways behind the first officer, monitoring and controlling the airplane systems. People can be licensed flight engineers and not be a qualified pilot. Or they can be a pilot working up through the ranks. If an airline has three crew airplanes, flight engineer is usually the first position a pilot will work in that company.

Some airplane types fly very long legs. To fully utilize these airplanes airlines must staff with more than two pilots as multiple shifts are needed. Several combinations of positions are used depending on the airline but most will use one captain and several first officers. Some airlines also use cruise pilots in place of all but one first officer. The cruise pilots spend the long, boring hours babysitting the computers in cruise flight. Regardless of the combination used one captain and one first officer must be flying the airplane for takeoff and landing.

Because of the odd nature of pilot employment it is not infrequent to someone other than the captain is the most experience pilot in the crew. That a pilot is the captain only means they have been at that airline longer.

Roles

Pilots have different roles depending on their title as well as who is flying the leg. Through the course of a trip, pilots will alternate legs flown. The first officer isn’t just a radio and checklist monkey; they typically fly every other leg. This is done for a couple reasons. Both pilots are flying airplanes because they enjoy it, so dividing the flights up makes the work more enjoyable for each person. Flying the plane takes a little more concentration though, so taking turns keeps a single pilot from getting overly exhausted.

When the airplane is sitting at the gate, the duties are divided up as captain/first officer. Each person has specific jobs depending on what seat they sit in. How the duties are divided varies between airlines and can even vary within an airline between airplane types. In the plane I fly the first officer is responsible for the initial preflight inspection, clearances, takeoff performance calculations. They also program the flight management computer for the leg and set up the flight director and radios for takeoff. The captain is responsible for reviewing the aircraft maintenance log, dispatch paperwork, and for doing weight and balance and fuel calculations. The captain also does a less detailed walk around inspection of the airplane between legs.

Captains taxi the airplane for takeoff. In this regard, they are always the pilot flying for the taxi and the first officer takes care of the pilot not flying duties. This is mainly because the nosewheel steering tiller for ground maneuvering is on the captain’s side. Air transport planes have limited ground steering with the rudder pedals.

For takeoff, the captain will align the airplane with the runway centerline and then roles change. The person flying will take control of the airplane and will become pilot flying (PF). The other person becomes pilot not flying (PNF). The pilot flying will fly the airplane for that leg and will have specific procedures and duties spelled out. The pilot not flying will also have duties and procedures spelled out to include running the checklists, making the radio calls, and monitoring systems.

There are instances where the pilot flying roles can change within a flight. During abnormal operations such as a system goofing off, the checklist might direct a specific position to become flying. For example, if system A decides it doesn’t like working correctly and its circuit breakers are next to the captain the checklist might direct the first officer to fly regardless of who is flying so the pilot flying is not the person hunting for the circuit breaker to reset the system.

Weather at or near landing minimums at the destination may also change pilot flying roles. It is common for what is called a captain monitored approach to be used in icky weather. With this approach the first officer is pilot flying until the runway is in site. Then the captain takes control to land the plane. If the runway is not sited the first officer is geared to fly the missed approach.