Description
Pilot and navigate the flight of fixed-wing aircraft, usually on scheduled air carrier routes, for the transport of passengers and cargo. Requires Federal Air Transport certificate and rating for specific aircraft type used. Includes regional, national, and international airline pilots and flight instructors of airline pilots.
- • Use instrumentation to guide flights when visibility is poor.
- • Respond to and report in-flight emergencies and malfunctions.
- • Work as part of a flight team with other crew members, especially during takeoffs and landings.
- • Contact control towers for takeoff clearances, arrival instructions, and other information, using radio equipment.
- • Steer aircraft along planned routes, using autopilot and flight management computers.
- • Monitor gauges, warning devices, and control panels to verify aircraft performance and to regulate engine speed.
- • Start engines, operate controls, and pilot airplanes to transport passengers, mail, or freight, adhering to flight plans, regulations, and procedures.
- • Inspect aircraft for defects and malfunctions, according to pre-flight checklists.
- • Check passenger and cargo distributions and fuel amounts to ensure that weight and balance specifications are met.
- • Monitor engine operation, fuel consumption, and functioning of aircraft systems during flights.
- • Confer with flight dispatchers and weather forecasters to keep abreast of flight conditions.
- • Coordinate flight activities with ground crews and air traffic control and inform crew members of flight and test procedures.
- • Order changes in fuel supplies, loads, routes, or schedules to ensure safety of flights.
- • Choose routes, altitudes, and speeds that will provide the fastest, safest, and smoothest flights.
- • Direct activities of aircraft crews during flights.
- • Brief crews about flight details, such as destinations, duties, and responsibilities.
- • Record in log books information, such as flight times, distances flown, and fuel consumption.
- • Make announcements regarding flights, using public address systems.
- • File instrument flight plans with air traffic control to ensure that flights are coordinated with other air traffic.
- • Perform minor maintenance work, or arrange for major maintenance.
- • Instruct other pilots and student pilots in aircraft operations and the principles of flight.
- • Conduct in-flight tests and evaluations at specified altitudes and in all types of weather to determine the receptivity and other characteristics of equipment and systems.
- • Evaluate other pilots or pilot-license applicants for proficiency.
- • Plan and formulate flight activities and test schedules and prepare flight evaluation reports.
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Tasks & skills:
O*NET occupational data (work activities, skills, knowledge).
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This site includes information from O*NET by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. Career Clutch has modified some of this information for student readability. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Last reviewed: Jan 2026
