First officer (civil aviation)

The first officer (English: first officer, abbreviated FO or F / O) is the civil aviation sector, the second pilot ( co-pilot ) on board an aircraft and is in command directly under the pilot in command (captain, commander). He is appointed by the airline. A special case is the " Senior First Officer " which applied to some long-haul flights in cruise flight the responsibility of the aircraft takes over if the commander takes a break. This in turn is the " First Officer " purposed in the hierarchy.

Should the captain on the ground is not present, or no longer be able to act in flight, takes over the co-pilot as deputy responsible for aircraft, crew and passengers.

In general, it is the captain allowed to actively delegate parts of its duties and responsibilities to the First Officer. This concerns in particular the planning and execution of a flight segment (English: leg) and is regular practice for most airlines. The FO takes on the role of the " pilot flying " and thus the control of the control of the aircraft. The captain dressed in this case the role of the " pilot not flying", ie, takes over the radio communications with the ground authorities and carries out at the request of the " pilot flying " circuits. The commander oversees the safe conduct of the flight; the legal responsibility remains with him. In general, the captain and the first officer to change the course of a day from use in the operational flight as pilot flying to distribute the work load evenly and to give everyone the opportunity to stay in practice.

All members of a cockpit crew are equally qualified for the flight operation in normal and abnormal situations. However, the commander is the most experienced member of the crew in general. If a first officer is obtained by an airline company through the acquisition of another company or the military, it may be that this has as the captain due to his uses a higher flight experience.

For inexperienced first officer ( engl. low time F / O) apply with many airlines, specific restrictions and safety regulations.

The place of the first officer is traditional for aircraft and helicopters left right in the cockpit. Legally, this is regulated in Germany in the air traffic regulations.

• Aviation personnel