Title: Attention Media: Copilots are Pilots
Headings: Attention Media: Copilots are Pilots
Attention Media: Copilots are Pilots
UPDATE: February 4, 2015
ORIGINAL POST: January 30, 2015
For more about pilot training, lifestyle and culture, see chapter four in the new book.

Content: That nobody is getting the message is a testament either to my own lack of reach or to stubbornness on the part of journalists. Maybe it’s both. Either way, allow me to cut and paste: Dear Anderson, et al: There are always at least two pilots in a jetliner cockpit — a captain and first officer — and both of these individuals are fully qualified to operate the aircraft. The first officer is known colloquially as the copilot. But a copilot is not an apprentice. He or she shares flying duties with the captain more or less equally. The captain is officially in charge, and earns a larger paycheck to accompany that responsibility, but both individuals fly the aircraft. Copilots perform just as many takeoffs and landings as captains do, in pretty much all weather conditions, and both are part of the decision-making process.