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Aviation vocabulary · Crew & Flight Planning

First officer

Meaning in aviation, with examples

nounCore term

In aviation, first officer means: The second pilot in an airline crew, who shares the flying and the duties with the captain and usually sits in the right seat.

In Turkish: ikinci pilot, yardımcı pilot

How it is used

Shortened to FO or F/O. First officers fly many sectors themselves; the cockpit roles are 'pilot flying' and 'pilot monitoring', not boss and assistant. First officers usually wear three stripes.

Example sentences

  1. The first officer is flying this sector, and I will handle the radio.

  2. She joined the airline as a first officer and became a captain six years later.

Common collocations

  • senior first officer
  • first officer training
  • the first officer is flying
  • right-hand seat
  • captainThe pilot in command of a flight, who has final responsibility for the aircraft, its crew and its passengers. Captains usually sit in the left seat.
  • cockpitThe area at the front of an aircraft where the pilots sit and operate the controls, instruments and radios.
  • CRMCrew resource management: training and practices that help crews communicate, share tasks, make decisions together and catch each other's mistakes.
  • checklistA written list of items that pilots or other crew check in a fixed order, so that nothing important is forgotten in each phase of flight.

More terms: Crew & Flight Planning

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