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Aviation glossary

First officer

Also: co-pilot, copilot, FO

Operations and flight

The pilot who shares the controls with the captain, ranks next in the chain of command and usually sits in the right-hand seat of the flight deck.

What it is

A first officer is not an assistant but a fully qualified pilot on the aircraft type, who takes off and lands on their own sectors and shares the workload with the captain. The two alternate as pilot flying and pilot monitoring, and the first officer takes command if the captain becomes incapacitated.

First officers usually wear three stripes. In many countries a pilot can start as a first officer with a commercial pilot licence and instrument rating, or with a multi-crew pilot licence (MPL), whereas in the United States an airline transport pilot certificate is generally required.

Long flights carry relief pilots, such as a second officer or cruise relief pilot, who take over so the operating crew can rest in bunks set aside for them. An ultra-long-haul flight may have four pilots on board.

Related terms

Pilot in commandThe pilot designated as ultimately responsible for the operation and safety of a flight; at an airline this is the captain, who normally sits in the left-hand seat. Cabin crewCrew members responsible for passenger safety in the cabin and for in-flight service, as distinct from the flight crew who fly the aircraft. Ultra-long-haul flightA non-stop flight of exceptional length, usually more than 16 hours, which needs very long-range aircraft and augmented crews who take turns to rest. Flight deckForward compartment from which the pilots fly the aircraft and manage its systems, navigation and communications.
Whole glossary

Cite

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This page was last updated on October 9, 2026

APA

Vuelopedia. (2026, October 9). First officer. Retrieved October 16, 2026, from https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/first-officer

MLA

“First officer.” Vuelopedia, Fundación Poderia, 9 Oct. 2026, vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/first-officer. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Vuelopedia. “First officer.” Fundación Poderia. Last modified October 9, 2026. https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/first-officer.

Harvard

Vuelopedia (2026) First officer. Available at: https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/first-officer (Accessed: 16 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{vuelopedia_en_glossary_first_officer,
  author       = {{Vuelopedia}},
  title        = {{First officer}},
  publisher    = {Fundación Poderia},
  year         = {2026},
  date         = {2026-10-09},
  url          = {https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/first-officer},
  howpublished = {\url{https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/first-officer}},
  urldate      = {2026-10-16},
  note         = {Accessed 2026-10-16}
}

Wikipedia

{{cite web |url=https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/first-officer |title=First officer |website=Vuelopedia |publisher=Fundación Poderia |date=2026-10-09 |access-date=2026-10-16 |language=en}}

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