Flight engineer

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In aviation, a flight engineer (also referred to as systems operator ) is a member of the aircrew of an aircraft who is responsible for checking the aircraft before and after each flight, and for monitoring aircraft systems during flight. These systems include pressurization, fuel, environmental, hydraulic, and electrical. On some military aircraft (eg. C-20 Gulfstream III and C-37 Gulfstream V) the flight engineer will perform a full preflight inspection. In civil operations and some military aircraft the flight engineer sits behind the pilot and co-pilot in the cockpit, facing a side panel of gauges and indicators. In other military aircraft, flight engineers sit between the pilots (P-3 Orion and C-130H). And on Tupolev Tu-134, the flight engineer sits in the nose of the aircraft. The flight engineer is the aircraft systems expert onboard and responsible for troubleshooting and suggesting solutions to in-flight emergencies, as well as computing takeoff and landing data.

The advent of computer technology and the glass cockpit has eliminated the requirement for flight engineers on modern airliners. However, older aircraft (that still fly today) such as the Boeing 747-100, -200, and -300, Boeing 727, Lockheed L-1011, and McDonnell Douglas DC-10 still require flight engineers. Newer aircraft monitor systems automatically, by computer, and report malfunctions directly to the pilot-in-command and the copilot.

Some air transport organizations refer to the flight engineer as a Second officer if he or she is also a pilot. On many commercial airliners, the flight engineer is third in command, after the Captain and First Officer, and it is not the most senior member of the Cabin Crew.