August 2009 – February 2010
The United States Bureau of Statistics national estimate is 77,090 for the current number of employed commercial airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers. The Airline Pilots Association, International, the largest airline pilot union, has over 53,000 members from thirty-six U.S. and Canadian airlines.
To qualify for this unique career, a pilot must have completed a flight training program and earned a commercial license or an airline transport rating. Most airline flight crew positions also require advanced instrument ratings, multi-engine ratings, and specific aircraft type ratings. Physical requirements must also be met according to the type of license held. A Class I Medical Certificate requires the highest standard of vision, hearing, equilibrium, and general physical condition. In the United States, pilot training, qualifications, and licensing are regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration.
An airline flight crew today typically includes a captain who is legally designated the pilot in command, a first officer who is also called a copilot, and depending on the aircraft and route being flown, a third officer serving as a flight engineer who is usually a qualified pilot as well. Under Federal Aviation Regulation 91.3, as in the law of the sea: The pilot in command of an aircraft is directly responsible for, and is the final authority as to, the operation of that aircraft.
Photography is not permitted.
©2009 by San Francisco Airport Commission. All rights reserved