Airplane Pilot Job Description

The Airplane Pilot must be capable to fly aircraft of all sizes, transporting passengers and cargo across the state and around the world.

Primary Objectives:

• The Airplane Pilot is responsible for the safety of the passengers.

• The Airplane Pilot is responsible for any cargo they carry to get it to its destination safe and in a timely manner.

• The Airplane Pilot is also responsible for the safety of the crew that they are working with and are on board of the airplane.

Most Airplane Pilots work for major airlines that carry both passengers and cargo. Airlines require two Airplane Pilots in the cockpit flying the plane. Normally the main Airplane Pilot is called the captain while his assistant is referred to as the co-pilot. The Airplane Pilots examine the airplane’s control equipment, checking each item off a list. The Captain must determine the weather and flight conditions before they ask the Air Traffic Controllers to approve their flight plans. While the Captain is getting these things done the co-pilot charts the airplane’s route and computes the flying time. The Airplane Pilot by radio requests that the aircraft dispatcher give permission for them to taxi, or begin moving, to the runway. The Airplane Pilots must wait for the controllers give them clearance for takeoff. When the Airline Pilot has received takeoff clearance by the dispatcher they begin to accelerate the plane down the runway until it achieves lift and is airborne.

The airplane is in the air and usually flies itself by an electronic automatic pilot. The Airplane Pilots are required to regularly report to air-route control stations by radio. The Airplane Pilots must report any problems that they maybe encountering immediately so that if needed they can get help from ground control. The Airplane Pilots receive information about the weather and if there is any traffic in their part of the sky. When the Airplane Pilots are nearing their destination the captain rechecks the landing gear and requests clearance to land from the air traffic controllers.

The Airplane Pilots know that in poor weather that the plane will be landed entirely by the instruments. Otherwise Airplane Pilots do use their own skills along with the instruments to safely land the planes. After landing, the Airplane Pilots must file a flight report and turn their plane over to maintenance crews on the ground. This is basically how Airplane Pilots operate who work for major airlines. These Airplane Pilots normally have a lot of flight experience and are capable of handling emergency situations. Some of these pilots have gotten their experience in the military flying jet planes. Some of the Airplane Pilots have gone to school learn how to fly and got a certification on the number of hours that they have put in and the types of planes that they have gotten their experience.

About one out of five Airline Pilots do not work for major airlines. Some Airline Pilots are test pilots who fly new or experimental planes. These Airline Pilots help to determine if the newer planes are safe and how they perform when in flight. Test Pilots are usually employed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) or by large airlines. Their job is vital because this is the only way that it can be determined if newer planes are fit to be put in the air and used by Airline Pilots.

Some Airplane Pilots are Business Airplane Pilots who fly smaller aircraft known as jets. These smaller jets are owned by the company and usually are used by several business executives but flown by the Airplane Pilot who works for the corporation. These Airplane Pilots usually are in charge of the maintenance of the airplanes when they are not in flight.

Other types of Airline Pilots are crop dusters who fly planes that drop chemical fertilizers and pest killers on crops. These Airline Pilots are hired by farmers or owners of big fields with crops that they plan on selling for food etc. Some of these Airline Pilots work as firefighters, flying over forest fires to drop chemicals that douse flames. These pilots find that in some parts of the country they are kept constantly busy unfortunately because of forest fires that continuously flare. Then there are the helicopter Airline Pilots who fly the sky watching over highways to report on traffic conditions and accidents. These are most of the civilian Airline Pilots and their job functions.