Pilots, copilots, and flight engineers navigate the flight of fixed-wing aircraft, usually on scheduled air carrier routes, for the transport of passengers and cargo. Requires Federal Air Transport certificate and rating for specific aircraft type used. Includes regional, national, and international airline pilots and flight instructors of airline pilots.
Work as part of a flight team with other crew members, especially during takeoffs and landings.
Use instrumentation to guide flights when visibility is poor.
Start engines, operate controls, and pilot airplanes to transport passengers, mail, or freight, adhering to flight plans, regulations, and procedures.
Contact control towers for takeoff clearances, arrival instructions, and other information, using radio equipment.
Monitor gauges, warning devices, and control panels to verify aircraft performance and to regulate engine speed.
Respond to and report in-flight emergencies and malfunctions.
Steer aircraft along planned routes, using autopilot and flight management computers.
Check passenger and cargo distributions and fuel amounts to ensure that weight and balance specifications are met.
Monitor engine operation, fuel consumption, and functioning of aircraft systems during flights.
Inspect aircraft for defects and malfunctions, according to pre-flight checklists.
Choose routes, altitudes, and speeds that will provide the fastest, safest, and smoothest flights.
Confer with flight dispatchers and weather forecasters to keep abreast of flight conditions.
Direct activities of aircraft crews during flights.
Brief crews about flight details, such as destinations, duties, and responsibilities.
Order changes in fuel supplies, loads, routes, or schedules to ensure safety of flights.
Record in log books information, such as flight times, distances flown, and fuel consumption.
Make announcements regarding flights, using public address systems.
Perform minor maintenance work, or arrange for major maintenance.
Test and evaluate the performance of new aircraft.
Coordinate flight activities with ground crews and air traffic control and inform crew members of flight and test procedures.
File instrument flight plans with air traffic control to ensure that flights are coordinated with other air traffic.
Conduct in-flight tests and evaluations at specified altitudes and in all types of weather to determine the receptivity and other characteristics of equipment and systems.
Instruct other pilots and student pilots in aircraft operations and the principles of flight.
Plan and formulate flight activities and test schedules and prepare flight evaluation reports.
Load smaller aircraft, handling passenger luggage and supervising refueling.
Evaluate other pilots or pilot-license applicants for proficiency.
Work Context
Work Context information for this career will be available soon.
Work Activities
Operating Vehicles, Mechanized Devices, or Equipment — Running, maneuvering, navigating, or driving vehicles or mechanized equipment, such as forklifts, passenger vehicles, aircraft, or water craft.
Getting Information — Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
Controlling Machines and Processes — Using either control mechanisms or direct physical activity to operate machines or processes (not including computers or vehicles).
Monitor Processes, Materials, or Surroundings — Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.
Making Decisions and Solving Problems — Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events — Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
Processing Information — Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data.
Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Material — Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.
Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards — Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
Analyzing Data or Information — Identifying the underlying principles, reasons, or facts of information by breaking down information or data into separate parts.
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge — Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
Interacting With Computers — Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work — Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates — Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
Judging the Qualities of Things, Services, or People — Assessing the value, importance, or quality of things or people.
Estimating the Quantifiable Characteristics of Products, Events, or Information — Estimating sizes, distances, and quantities; or determining time, costs, resources, or materials needed to perform a work activity.
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships — Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others — Handling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others.
Developing and Building Teams — Encouraging and building mutual trust, respect, and cooperation among team members.
Performing for or Working Directly with the Public — Performing for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests.
Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others — Translating or explaining what information means and how it can be used.
Documenting/Recording Information — Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Geography
Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Mathematics
Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
English Language
Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Computers and Electronics
Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Psychology
Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Mechanical
Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Public Safety and Security
Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Physics
Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub- atomic structures and processes.
Customer and Personal Service
Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Administration and Management
Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Telecommunications
Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
Active Listening
Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Critical Thinking
Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Monitoring
Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Reading Comprehension
Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Complex Problem Solving
Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Judgment and Decision Making
Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Speaking
Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Active Learning
Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Time Management
Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Coordination
Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Social Perceptiveness
Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Systems Analysis
Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
Mathematics
Using mathematics to solve problems.
Systems Evaluation
Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
Writing
Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Troubleshooting
Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
Quality Control Analysis
Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
Learning Strategies
Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
Service Orientation
Actively looking for ways to help people.
Instructing
Teaching others how to do something.
Science
Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
Management of Personnel Resources
Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
Response Orientation
The ability to choose quickly between two or more movements in response to two or more different signals (lights, sounds, pictures). It includes the speed with which the correct response is started with the hand, foot, or other body part.
Problem Sensitivity
The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
Spatial Orientation
The ability to know your location in relation to the environment or to know where other objects are in relation to you.
Multilimb Coordination
The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion.
Near Vision
The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Flexibility of Closure
The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
Reaction Time
The ability to quickly respond (with the hand, finger, or foot) to a signal (sound, light, picture) when it appears.
Rate Control
The ability to time your movements or the movement of a piece of equipment in anticipation of changes in the speed and/or direction of a moving object or scene.
Far Vision
The ability to see details at a distance.
Depth Perception
The ability to judge which of several objects is closer or farther away from you, or to judge the distance between you and an object.
Written Comprehension
The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Inductive Reasoning
The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Oral Expression
The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
Selective Attention
The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
Deductive Reasoning
The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Perceptual Speed
The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.
Information Ordering
The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
Time Sharing
The ability to shift back and forth between two or more activities or sources of information (such as speech, sounds, touch, or other sources).
Oral Comprehension
The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Speech Recognition
The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
Hearing Sensitivity
The ability to detect or tell the differences between sounds that vary in pitch and loudness.
Speech Clarity
The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
Manual Dexterity
The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
Peripheral Vision
The ability to see objects or movement of objects to one's side when the eyes are looking ahead.
Visual Color Discrimination
The ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness.
Night Vision
The ability to see under low light conditions.
Glare Sensitivity
The ability to see objects in the presence of glare or bright lighting.
Auditory Attention
The ability to focus on a single source of sound in the presence of other distracting sounds.
Category Flexibility
The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
Number Facility
The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.
Mathematical Reasoning
The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
Speed of Closure
The ability to quickly make sense of, combine, and organize information into meaningful patterns.
Finger Dexterity
The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
Visualization
The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
Sound Localization
The ability to tell the direction from which a sound originated.
Written Expression
The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
