Sir - It may be true that there is no place for the flight engineer on the flightdeck of modern aircraft, but recent history suggests that another pair of eyes and ears in the jump seat might make a contribution to safety.
It is interesting to note the increasing level of unruly passengers on transport aircraft and the presence of another flightdeck crewmember is a significant way of ensuring the continuing integrity of the remaining crewmembers necessary for safe flight.
New graduate airline pilots used to start their careers by observing and assisting flight operations from the jump seat. It was a simple and straightforward way of giving these pilots time to adjust to the environment of multi-crew operations. A spin-off was that it made a positive contribution to flight safety.
There are newly qualified aviation personnel today who would love to fulfil such a role. Although it would mean paying another salary, the increase in the level of safety would be well worth it.
Robert Taylor
Nottingham, UK
Source: Flight International
