The pilot in command is the pilot legally responsible for the operation and safety of a flight. PIC time is the most scrutinised column in a logbook — airline minimums and licence requirements hinge on it, and FAA and EASA logging rules differ in ways that routinely cause errors.
The pilot in command (PIC) is the pilot designated as responsible for the operation and safety of the aircraft during flight time. Legal responsibility is absolute and personal: the PIC makes the final call on airworthiness acceptance, weather, fuel and the conduct of the flight, and answers for violations regardless of who else was aboard.
Logging PIC time is a separate, more tangled question, and FAA and EASA diverge in ways that matter. Under the FAA, a student solo logs PIC, and a rated pilot may log PIC when sole manipulator of controls for an aircraft they're rated in — even with another pilot acting as PIC. EASA is stricter: PIC time generally requires actually being the designated commander, with student solo logged as 'PICUS'/SPIC in defined contexts and dual time never as PIC. Applying one system's habits under the other corrupts logbooks.
Why it matters for flight schools
PIC hours are the currency of a flying career — airline minimums, insurance requirements and licence prerequisites all specify them — which makes mislogged PIC time a delayed-fuse problem that detonates at assessment or licence conversion, sometimes years later. Schools sit at the source: their records establish who acted as PIC on every flight, and international students switching between FAA and EASA logging conventions need explicit guidance, not assumptions. Operationally, every dispatch must have an unambiguous answer to 'who is PIC' — especially instructor-plus-rated-renter flights where both could be.
How FlightLogger handles it
FlightLogger records the designated PIC per flight as structured data, so school records, student logbooks and instructor logs all derive from one unambiguous source instead of three reconstructions.
Frequently asked questions
Can two pilots log PIC time for the same flight?
Under FAA rules, yes in defined cases — one acting as PIC while a second, rated in the aircraft, logs PIC as sole manipulator. Under EASA rules, essentially no: one commander per flight, with schemes like PICUS covering supervised command time under strict conditions.
Does a student pilot log solo time as PIC?
Under the FAA, yes — solo student time is PIC time. Under EASA, solo student time is logged as PIC under supervision context per the applicable scheme, and the distinction matters for later licence applications.