The 1978 summary of accident data from 1967 through 1976 has been extended through 1979. Comparing accident rates of aircraft types approved for operation by two crewmembers vs. accident rates for those approved for operation by three crewmembers, no indication of a safety problem relating to crew size was found. Over this three-year update period, accident rates per million departures were generally superior for the two-crew aircraft, the same result found for the earlier ten-year period. This nominal superiority is not considered a necessary result of flight deck configuration since there are other important differences in the operating environments of the various aircraft. A separate study has been made of the relationship between crew size and regulatory violations. This study, which is appended, produced no evidence that aircraft with crew size of two are being flown with less compliance than aircraft with a crew size of three. (Author).

This book examines the airline crew complement controversy, which is the idea of whether a plane needs a third cockpit crew member to operate safely.