An airplane crew or flight crew is all personnel on board who operates in it before, during and after the flight. The composition and number of air crew members will depend on the aircraft and flight type. Thus, on a passengers transport flight the crew will be composed of pilots, also called technical crew, and cabin crew (or flight attendants) on the number marked by the type of aircraft while, usually, on a cargo flight, only pilots will be found. For a safe performance of the flight operation, it is necessary the crew to be complete in accordance with the manufacturer’s certification and current regulations, having to comply with a minimum that companies may increase according to their needs. Under the regulations of European Aviation Safety Agency and the US Federal Aviation Administration, commercial flights must be operated by, at least, two pilots. As for the number of flight attendants, it will depend on the amount of emergency doors and the passengers capacity of the aircraft in question, being necessary one crew member per floor-level exit or, at least, one every fifty passengers.
The part of an aircraft where the flight crew execute their work is divided into two different areas:
Located at the front of the aircraft, also called “nose“, is where the pilots perform their functions. It contains all the controls necessary for piloting, with two flywheels or “horns”, in some plane models is a “joystick”, with which each pilot may direct the aircraft; equal duplication of indicators of altitude, fuel, speed, power etc., so that both pilots can control and contrast the information from their post, and a central console, common for pilot and co-pilot, from which to activate/deactivate lights and other systems.
Starts right behind cockpit from which it is separated by a door that will always be closed during the flight. This is where the cabin crew play their duties. It is divided into seating areas, where passengers travel, and work areas or “galleys“, where food and drink carts, ovens, refrigerators and everything necessary to satisfy the needs of travelers are located. In addition, each emergency door has a seat designated for each crew member and equipped with statutory emergency equipment.
An airplane crew consists of a team in which all members are necessary for the flight accomplishment. However, there is a hierarchical order that must be followed and respected in order to carry the operation out in a safe way. So, let’s see each one’s duties in order of importance.
Also called commander, the pilot in command, in addition to piloting the aircraft, is the highest authority and bears the ultimate responsibility for all decisions that must be taken to complete the flight without incidents. This role encompasses several common functions, including staying informed of everything happening inside the plane, whether it concerns passengers (sickness, troublesome individuals, etc.) or the aircraft itself (noises, fumes, smells, etc.). The commander always occupies the left seat in the cockpit and can be distinguished from other pilots by the four golden bars and a star on the shirt’s sleeves. In a crew where two pilots display four bars but only one has a star, the latter is identified as the pilot in command.
Or first officer, is the one who occupies the right seat in cockpit and becomes the highest authority on board in absence or incapacity of the captain. First officers differ from commanders in that they wear three golden bars on their sleeves.
Due to the constant evolution of technology this post is practically extinct as the last aircrafts generations do not need it and is only seen in airplanes before the 1990s. Called “second officer” in the crew hierarchy, in Spain it was called “flight mechanic”.
The Flight Engineer is responsible for the operation and monitoring of aircraft systems: hydraulic, fuel, electrical, air conditioning and pressurization, etc. He/she also carries out pre-flight, internal and external inspections, performance calculations and, occasionally, on-board documentation. He/she works from a panel in cockpit, behind the pilots and differ from the rest of technical crew in that they show three golden bars, one of them thinner than the other two, in their sleeves. With the present technology sophistication and the application of computer technology on aircrafts, which combined with sensors and state-of-the-art electronics, take on the tasks previously assigned to the flight engineer, only two pilots are required in the new aircrafts generations as the on-board computer automatically makes the necessary adjustments while carrying out the appropriate emergency alerts, as well as relevant corrections to restore normal conditions.
Also called flight attendants. Although their image is of personnel in charge of the passenger’s comfort, attending to their basic needs and providing them with a pleasant flight, their main task is to control any emergency that may occur on board – fires, troublesome passengers, evacuations – for which they receive yearly training in which they practice firefighting, evacuation, review of procedures and equipment, as well as basic first aid. In short, is the part of the crew that ensures safety during the flight. Their posts are distributed along the plane, with at least one crew member by each floor-level emergency exit. Their number can be reduced but always must be one per every fifty passengers.
Within the cabin crew there is also a hierarchy in which the purser is the main figure. He/she is upon which the captain delegates to manage and keep him/her informed about everything that happens in the cabin.
Flight attendants don’t usually wear stripes on their uniforms. If they do, they may not show more than one bar in the case of attendants and two in the case of pursers. To distinguish the chief attendant from the rest of the crew, usually, a different detail or a garment of different colour is added to the uniform
Therefore, the crew of an aircraft is made of a group of professionals, perfectly structured, who work as a team performing different functions in order to complete the flight operation safely.
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