Definition
For the purposes of Center Resource Advisory (CRA) and Traffic Management Advisor (TMA) procedures, an aircraft certificated for operation by a single pilot, with no other crewmember required by its type certificate or by the operating regulation under which the flight is being conducted.
Plain English
An aircraft that is approved to be flown by just one pilot, without needing a co-pilot or other required crew.
Context Anchor
You may see this term in pilot/controller discussions where air traffic control considers the workload of a military jet pilot who is flying alone.
Why Pilots Care
Determines whether a second pilot is required, which affects flight planning, fatigue limits, autopilot use, and regulatory compliance.
Intuition Check
Do not read this as any airplane that happens to have one pilot today. In this FAA glossary context, it specifically refers to a military turbojet aircraft operated by one pilot.
Example Sentence 1
Because the Cirrus SR22 is a single-piloted aircraft, the controller gave the pilot extra time to copy the revised clearance.
Example Sentence 2
Single-piloted aircraft on IFR flights must meet specific autopilot requirements under the regulations.