How The Advent Of Glass Cockpits Reduced The Need For Flight Engineers

Until the 1980s, it was common for an aircraft to have more than two crew members in the cockpit. In fact, aircraft were designed to have a designated seat for a Flight Engineer who would monitor crucial parameters of the aircraft during flight. While the Flight Engineer did not actively fly the plane, the person was responsible for assisting pilots with the monitoring of instruments, sensors, and other information critical for flight.