Thanks to the rapid development of onboard electronics and automation of routine processes, the crew size of civil aircraft continues to decrease. This was reminded by Oleg Panteleev, Executive Director of the AviaPort agency.
According to him, several decades ago, the cockpit of a typical passenger aircraft was operated by four to five specialists — the captain, the co-pilot, the navigator, the flight engineer, and sometimes a radio operator. However, the introduction of modern electronic systems has made it possible to transfer most of the operations to onboard computers, significantly relieving the pilots and making it possible to switch to a two-member crew, which has become the standard today.
Currently, the possibility of further reduction is being actively discussed in the professional environment — to the so-called "one-and-a-half-member" or even one-member crew. In the first case, the functions of the co-pilot are not used under normal conditions, but in an emergency, control can be transferred to a senior flight attendant who has undergone special training. This approach is seen as a compromise between economic efficiency and flight safety.
Earlier www1.ru reported that a forecast of civil aviation construction in Russia until 2050 has been developed.