Definition
The deliberate division and management of cockpit duties among flight crew members so that flying the aircraft, navigating, communicating, and managing systems are handled in an organized way, with each pilot knowing their role at every moment.
Plain English
Working together as a flight crew so that one pilot is clearly flying the aircraft while the other handles tasks like radio calls, checklists, or troubleshooting -- and both know who is doing what.
Context Anchor
You will see this term in multi-pilot flying and instrument flying, especially during busy moments such as takeoff, approach, emergencies, or recovery from a control problem.
Derivation
From Latin 'coordinare' -- to arrange together. The word emphasizes that the tasks are arranged in a planned way, not just shared randomly.
Why Pilots Care
Effective crew coordination reduces errors and prevents loss of control in high-workload situations.
Grounding Statement
In a busy cockpit, crew coordination is what keeps one pilot flying, another pilot checking, and both pilots aware of what is happening.
Intuition Check
Crew coordination does not just mean that the crew gets along. It means the crew actively communicates, divides tasks, cross-checks, and backs each other up.
Example Sentence 1
Good crew coordination meant that while the captain flew the approach, the first officer ran the checklist and made the radio calls.
Example Sentence 2
After an engine failure the crew used coordination to have one pilot fly the aircraft while the other completed the checklist and made the radio call.