The most important safety feature on any commercial aircraft is two well-trained, well-rested professional pilots.
Airliners are designed for more than one pilot on the flight deck because safety and operations require it. Yet some special-interest groups continue to push for reducing the flight crew on large aircraft—possibly down to a single pilot—to cut operational costs.
Pilots on board an aircraft can see, feel, smell, and hear many indications of an impending problem and begin to formulate a course of action before even the most sophisticated sensors and indicators provide positive indications of trouble.
Ample evidence—including more than a decade of study by NASA and the FAA—confirms that the safety risks associated with single-pilot operations far outweigh any potential benefits.
of people polled want two pilots working together on the flight deck.
A minimum two-person flight crew is necessary to manage the flight deck workload and protect against the potential incapacitation of one pilot.
ALPA supports innovation and the introduction of new technology on the flight deck to enhance safety and improve pilot situational awareness, but some foreign manufacturers are pushing single-pilot aircraft, including so-called “extended minimum crew operations” (eMCO), for the purpose of removing a pilot from the flight deck. This creates unacceptable risk and is inconsistent with decades of U.S. and international safety regulations.
On November 19, 2022, a Delta Air Lines flight suffered a significant bird strike. That same day, an IOE captain at the controls of an Envoy Air flight suffered a medical event and became unresponsive. In both incidents, having two pilots on the flight deck was absolutely crucial to the aircraft’s safe and successful landing during an emergency.
January 5, 2024
Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 had just taken off from Portland International Airport when the B-737-9 MAX suffered in-flight blowout of a left mid-exit door plug. This resulted in rapid cabin depressurization, forcing the flight crew to declare an emergency and return to the airport for an immediate landing. The two flightcrew members, four cabin crewmembers, and 171 passengers aboard disembarked safely at the gate.
February 4, 2023
FedEx Express Flight 1432 was on approach to land at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport with Capt. Hugo Carvajal flying and F/O Robert Bradeen, Jr., monitoring. Bradeen visually identified a Southwest flight approximately 1,000 to 1,500 feet down the runway and quickly called for a go-around to avoid a collision with the other aircraft.
February 13, 2018
United Airlines Flight 1175 was less than an hour from Honolulu when its right engine failed. Capt. Christopher Behnam, copilot F/O Paul Ayers, and F/O Ed Gagarin, occupying the jumpseat, worked together to assess the situation and maintain control of the aircraft amid deafening noise and significant vibration.
May 21, 2020
Delta Air Lines Flight 3343, a cargo flight from Frankfurt to Chicago, was 6.5 hours into its return trip when F/O Matthew Clark suffered cardiac arrest at 40,000 feet while at the controls of a B-777 and became immediately incapacitated.
Any reduction in proven safety standards for the world’s safest mode of transportation would put the lives of people in the aircraft—and on the ground—at great risk.
FAA rules require at least two pilots to fly large passenger and cargo aircraft flights, and these crucial safety measures should not be changed. Today's pilots earn their stripes through hard work, extensive training, and valuable wisdom gained from hundreds of hours in the flight deck. No computer or remote pilot can match an onboard crew’s training, dedication, and instincts.
Strong safety standards save lives, and passengers will not fly with an airline that has only one pilot on the flight deck, even if airfare prices decrease. With two pilots on board, every flight is in good hands.
Pilots around the globe are unified in the fight against reduced crew operations. We're a cofounder of a global coalition to prevent airlines and manufacturers from pushing ahead with plans to remove pilots from the flight deck. Airline pilots stand firm when we say: “Safety Starts with Two.”
Learn more about key issues and how you can support our mission.
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