Who is part of the crew of the aircraft? Crew of a passenger aircraft: composition, photo

The crew of the aircraft is a rather broad concept. As a rule, it includes not only the team that rises to the sky, but also the people responsible for maintaining the board on the ground. Passengers do not see the latter and often do not even guess how many professionals work to ensure that the board safely delivers them to their destinations.

Passenger aircraft

The history of passenger aircraft began in 1913 in Russia. In that year, the first man-made passenger aircraft Ilya Muromets, created by Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky, was successfully tested. The aircraft could carry not only passengers, but also cargo, and also was a bomber.

Since then, much has changed in this area. Aircraft carrying passengers became reactive, some models are able to cover a distance of over 6,000 kilometers. Over time, the composition and number of crew members varied.

Personnel serving the passenger flight

All the staff that serves the flight can be divided into two main groups:

1. Personnel "behind the scenes", which includes technical experts on the ground, managers who service the flight at the airport, dispatchers and other employees.
2. The crew of the plane. Its composition depends on the type of aircraft. They include the captain, co-pilot, engineer and flight attendants.

The crew admitted to flights must be highly qualified. From the skills of these people and the ability to clearly fulfill the safety requirements depend on the lives of passengers, the calmness on board and the high quality of service in flight.

The safety of the flight as a whole depends on the professionalism of each employee, it is absolutely unimportant whether he rises in the air or works on the ground.

Requirements for flight crew

Having decided with those who are part of the crew of the aircraft, we will consider the professions in more detail.

During the Soviet period, three or four crew members responded directly to the flight. Today, two or three crew members handle this task. Due to the development of technical means, the profession of the navigator from the flight crew was completely ousted. Also in the cabs of modern flight passenger vehicles there is rarely a place for a flight engineer. As a rule, the composition of the aircraft's crew consists only of the captain of the ship and the co-pilot, not counting the flight attendants.

As a basic requirement for pilots, the so-called "raid" is presented. This term indicates the number of hours he spent in the air. The higher the "touch", the more experienced it is. For the captain of the aircraft, a minimum of 4000 hours of flying time will be indicated as a minimum. At the same time he must have a valid pilot's certificate on his hands. The commander of the aircraft is solely responsible for the safety of the civil side and takes any responsible decisions.

The requirements for flying in civil aviation are applicable to the second pilot. His post is also called assistant commander of the crew. In the case of training on board, he can not be called a co-pilot. In the cockpit, usually the co-pilot is placed in the right-hand seat, and the captain is in the left. All duties between the two professionals are clearly allocated. Each performs only its part of the task.

Flight attendants

Stewardesses have always been the pride of civil aviation. Today, the crew of the aircraft as service personnel are not only girls, but also guys. The tasks of flight attendants are extensive:

• Permanent monitoring of the cabin of the aircraft in order to timely respond to any extraordinary situations.
• Ensuring the safety of passengers.
• Organization of evacuation and timely response to emergencies, including panic on board with strong turbulence, smoke and others.
• Servicing of passengers.

Depending on the type of aircraft, one to fourteen flight attendants can work on its board. The service manager is often a member of the crew of a passenger aircraft. Its composition is determined depending on the legislation, type of aircraft and additional requirements of the airline.

In modern civil aviation there is competition in the class of passenger transportation services. So, it's not uncommon to find on board a barman and a specially trained chef. They are also part of the crew of the aircraft.

Training and retraining of the crew

As a rule, anywhere in the world does not require a license for flight attendants. Preparation and safety briefing is mandatory. It includes the ability to swim, respond quickly to extraordinary situations, training in safety standards. Such training is conducted on the ground for several months, after which the exam is taken. Many airlines closely monitor to ensure that doctors check the health of employees entering the crew of the aircraft. The composition (photo is represented), of which the flight commission consists, necessarily includes specialists testing pilots and flight attendants. Doctors without this practice are not allowed on the commission.

With pilots, the situation is different. They must annually undergo a requalification, which includes:

1. Flight test (surrenders once a year).
2. Test on flight simulators (it is surrendered twice a year).
3. The course of retraining on earth.

Also mandatory for the pilots is the passage of the medical commission. The same requirement applies to flight engineers. For people over 40, the medical commission is held once every 6 months, for persons under 40 years - once a year.

Working hours of the crew

Work in the air is always associated with stress. That's why all people who are part of the crew of the aircraft, identify lack of sleep, fatigue. The question of how long the team members must be in the workplace is regulated separately by each airline, which relies on the legislation of the country.

Nevertheless, this issue remains acute. This does not apply to short-distance flights. But with flights lasting for 10-16 hours, the issue is solved individually. There are still no general rules on the standard of watches in civil aviation.