Do both pilots need to have a license?

The answer to the question of, do both pilots need to have a license is “YES”. Just as you are not legally allowed to drive a car without a license, you are not legally allowed to fly a plane without a license.

With a driving license, you can drive a range of cars but if you need to do it for a living (commercially) you will often require a bit more. You could say flying is a bit like that too. You have a PPL (private pilot license) which allows you to fly with friends and family. If you want to earn income as a pilot, a CPL (commercial pilot license) is required. That’s probably where the similarities between driving a vehicle and flying a plane stop.

To fly larger planes you often require what’s called a typerating. And before you go for at typerating, you need to be a certified pilot. The typerating is an additional course after you are licensed as a pilot. Each type of plane will have its own typerating. So it is not like you can get a “typerating for all large planes” like you maybe could get a truck license, that would cover you for certain types of trucks across various brands. It doesn’t work like that. A typerating is usually only valid for a specific model, so if used car-terminology, if you have the Mercedes E-class typerating – well then maybe you will be allowed to drive the 2,5 l and 3,0 l version, as after all the layout of the car stays the same. You could say that a typerating is a course where you learn about what all the buttons and handles do and how the systems operate. You will need to demonstrate a high level of competence to pass the typerating programme. When you have the typerating it is typically valid for 12 months. To renew it you usually need to go into a simulator and pass a check.

On all planes, there is a PIC (pilot in command). Sometimes you call the PIC role a captain. When you get your license, let’s say a PPL license, when you go flying you are technically a captain (PIC). Most people though think of a captain, as someone operating in a concept where there are two pilots. We call it multi-pilot airplanes. To fly a multi-pilot airplane, you will require a MCC (multi crew corporation course). Typically you will also need what’s called an ATPL (Airline Transportation Pilot License) to be a captain on a bigger plane. To get the ATPL you will need to have a minimum experience level to satisfy the state requirements, but the company you work for may have stricter requirements.

It will be unheard and in breach of the licensing laws, to have a commercial operation where one of the pilots was not licensed and current. That means that if you are just one day over your expiry, you are not allowed to operate. If you are expired you can renew your currency by going through training and checking, which is mostly done in simulators to keep the cost down.

In a commercial operation requiring two pilots, the answer is no. In a single-pilot airplane, you are allowed to have someone who is not a pilot next to you. It will however be at the discretion of the PIC to make sound choices of who this person is. It could be a child, as long as you are certain that it will not impact the safe operation of the flight. Some smaller business jets can be operated both as multi-pilot and as single pilot. If it is one or the other is often a question of if the flight is private or commercial.

Happy landings

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