A safety pilot is a qualified pilot who sits in the right seat of an aircraft to watch for traffic, terrain, and obstacles while the other pilot practices instrument flying with a view-limiting device. Federal regulations require a safety pilot any time a pilot simulates instrument conditions in an actual aircraft, since the pilot “under the hood” cannot see outside the cockpit.
Why a Safety Pilot Is Required
When pilots train for instrument flying, they need to practice navigating solely by reference to cockpit instruments. To simulate the low-visibility conditions of flying through clouds, the practicing pilot wears a view-limiting device, commonly called “foggles” (frosted glasses) or a hood that blocks outside visual references. This creates a problem: someone still needs to look outside and keep the aircraft safe from other planes, towers, and terrain.
That’s where the safety pilot comes in. Under 14 CFR 91.109, no one may operate a civil aircraft in simulated instrument flight unless the other control seat is occupied by a safety pilot. The rule exists because the see-and-avoid principle is a cornerstone of visual flight. Regardless of flight plan type or radar coverage, pilots are responsible for visually spotting and avoiding other traffic and obstacles. When one pilot can’t see outside, another pilot must fill that role.
Certification and Medical Requirements
A safety pilot must hold at least a private pilot certificate with category and class ratings appropriate to the aircraft being flown. If you’re acting as safety pilot in a single-engine land airplane, for example, you need a private certificate with single-engine land privileges. A student pilot certificate isn’t enough.
You also need a valid medical certificate. The FAA considers a safety pilot a “required flight crewmember,” which means you must meet the same medical standards as any pilot exercising flight privileges. BasicMed, the FAA’s alternative to a traditional aviation medical exam, specifically covers pilots acting as required crewmembers such as safety pilots.
What a Safety Pilot Actually Does
The safety pilot’s primary job is straightforward: look outside and keep the airplane safe. In practice, this means scanning continuously for other aircraft, monitoring altitude relative to terrain and obstacles, and staying alert to anything the practicing pilot can’t see. You’re the eyes of the operation during the portions of flight conducted under simulated instrument conditions.
Beyond traffic scanning, a safety pilot often handles radio communications, helps with navigation, and monitors the aircraft’s instruments as a cross-check. The role works best when both pilots brief their responsibilities before the flight, covering who handles the radios, how control transfers will be communicated, and what the plan is if something goes wrong. Effective communication between the two pilots follows basic crew resource management principles: clear, concise, and closed-loop. That means if one pilot says “I have the flight controls,” the other responds “you have the flight controls” to confirm the handoff.
The safety pilot must occupy the other control seat, not a back seat or jump seat. This ensures they can take over the controls immediately if needed.
Who Is Responsible for the Flight
This is one of the most misunderstood parts of the safety pilot arrangement. Before the flight, the two pilots need to agree on who is acting as pilot in command (PIC). The PIC is “directly responsible for, and is the final authority as to, the operation of that aircraft” under 14 CFR 91.3. That responsibility includes the authority to deviate from regulations in an emergency.
The PIC can be either pilot. Often the pilot under the hood acts as PIC, since they’re building instrument experience and want to log the time that way. In that arrangement, the safety pilot serves as a required crewmember but is not the PIC. Alternatively, the safety pilot can act as PIC, which sometimes makes sense if the practicing pilot wants to focus entirely on instrument skills without the added responsibility. The key point is that both pilots must agree on who holds PIC authority before takeoff.
How Both Pilots Can Log Flight Time
The flight time logging rules are a major reason pilots volunteer to be safety pilots: both people in the cockpit can often log PIC time for the same flight, which is a cost-effective way to build hours.
Here’s how it works. The pilot under the hood logs PIC time as the “sole manipulator of the controls” for an aircraft in which they’re rated. The safety pilot can also log PIC time, but only for the portion of the flight during which simulated instrument conditions are in effect, because during that time the safety pilot is a required crewmember under 91.109. If the flight is 3 hours total but only 2 hours are spent under the hood, the safety pilot logs 2 hours of PIC time.
There’s an important catch, though. Only one pilot can log PIC time based on the “acting as PIC” rule, and only one can log it as “sole manipulator.” If both pilots want to log PIC, they need to be logging under different provisions. The practicing pilot logs PIC as sole manipulator. The safety pilot logs PIC as acting pilot in command (if they’ve agreed to be the PIC for the flight). If the practicing pilot is both sole manipulator and acting PIC, the safety pilot would instead log second-in-command (SIC) time for the portion of flight during which they were a required crewmember.
The practicing pilot must also record the safety pilot’s name in their logbook for any simulated instrument time.
When You Don’t Need a Safety Pilot
A safety pilot is only required during simulated instrument conditions in an actual aircraft. If you’re practicing instrument procedures in a flight simulator, flight training device, or aviation training device on the ground, no safety pilot is needed. Likewise, if you’re flying in actual instrument meteorological conditions (real clouds, real low visibility) rather than simulating them with a view-limiting device, the regulations don’t require a safety pilot because there’s no visual reference to block.
If a certified flight instructor is in the other seat providing instruction, they fulfill the safety pilot role. You don’t need a separate safety pilot in addition to a CFI.
Practical Tips for Safety Pilot Flights
A pre-flight briefing makes a significant difference in how smoothly these flights go. Cover the basics: who is PIC, who handles radios, what the practicing pilot wants to work on, where you’ll fly, and how you’ll handle an emergency. Agree on a clear phrase for transferring control of the aircraft, and practice the closed-loop confirmation (“I have the controls” / “you have the controls”) so there’s never ambiguity about who is flying.
Stay disciplined about your scan. It’s tempting to watch the instruments or follow along with the approach the other pilot is flying, but your job is to look outside. Traffic conflicts can develop quickly, especially near airports where instrument practice approaches are common. Keep your head on a swivel and speak up early if you see a potential conflict. The best safety pilots are assertive without being aggressive, expressing concerns clearly rather than staying quiet out of politeness.
For pilots building hours toward a commercial or airline transport certificate, splitting flight costs and both logging PIC time makes the safety pilot arrangement one of the most practical ways to accumulate experience. Many flying clubs and online pilot communities have boards specifically for matching pilots who want to trade safety pilot duties.