In all forms of

aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes airplane, fixed-wing and helicopter, rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as aerostat, lighter- ...

, ground crew (also known as ground operations in civilian aviation) are personnel that service

aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to flight, fly by gaining support from the Atmosphere of Earth, air. It counters the force of gravity by using either Buoyancy, static lift or by using the Lift (force), dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in ...

while on the ground, during routine turn-around; as opposed to

aircrew Aircrew, also called flight crew, are personnel who operate an aircraft while in flight. The composition of a flight's crew depends on the type of aircraft, plus the flight's duration and purpose. Commercial aviation Flight deck positions ...

, who operate all aspects of an aircraft whilst in flight. The term ground crew is used by both civilian commercial

airline An airline is a company that provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for codeshare agreements, in wh ...

s and in

military aviation Military aviation comprises military aircraft and other flying machines for the purposes of conducting or enabling aerial warfare, including national airlift ( air cargo) capacity to provide logistical supply to forces stationed in a war thea ...

Aircraft ground crew

Dependent on the type of aircraft being operated, airline ground crew members typically include:

airframe The mechanical structure of an aircraft is known as the airframe. This structure is typically considered to include the fuselage, undercarriage, empennage and wings, and excludes the propulsion system. Airframe design is a field of aerospa ...

technicians,

engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ...

technicians,

avionics Avionics (a blend of ''aviation'' and ''electronics'') are the electronic systems used on aircraft. Avionic systems include communications, navigation, the display and management of multiple systems, and the hundreds of systems that are fit ...

technicians.

Military aircraft

Military aircraft equipped with either weapons and / or an

ejector seat In aircraft, an ejection seat or ejector seat is a system designed to rescue the pilot or other crew of an aircraft (usually military) in an emergency. In most designs, the seat is propelled out of the aircraft by an explosive charge or rocket ...

will also require a dedicated weapons technician ground crew member.

Non-powered flight

Ground crew required for non-powered flight, such as gliders will include people who manually handle the glider aircraft from their storage location (such as an

aircraft hangar A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish ...

) to their respective launch site, and then to return them at the end of flying. Aero-towed launched gliders will require ground crew commensurate with supporting the tow aircraft, which are typically single piston-engined

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...

(GA) small lightweight utility variants, often

Cessna Cessna () is an American brand of general aviation aircraft owned by Textron Aviation since 2014, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. Originally, it was a brand of the Cessna Aircraft Company, an American general aviation aircraft manufacturing ...

. For winch-launched gliders, ground crew will also include the winch-launch operator(s), and also a pay-out vehicle operator whose purpose is to draw or pay-out the winch launch cables (usually two cables per launch vehicle) which will be located at the far end of the upwind side of the airfield, to the gliders awaiting their turn to launch at the opposite end of the airfield.

Non-controlled flight

For those aircraft that do not possess any controls for changing the direction course of the aircraft, commonly known as

hot-air balloon A hot air balloon is a lighter-than-air aircraft consisting of a bag, called an envelope, which contains heated air. Suspended beneath is a gondola or wicker basket (in some long-distance or high-altitude balloons, a capsule), which carries p ...

s, these require particularly unique ground crew. Their roles include preparing the passenger basket (or gondola) with the correct amount of pressurized gas for the burners, testing of the burners, calculating the total mass of the

balloon A balloon is a flexible bag that can be inflated with a gas, such as helium, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, oxygen, and air. For special tasks, balloons can be filled with smoke, liquid water, granular media (e.g. sand, flour or rice), or lig ...

pilot and all passengers, calculating and applying appropriate

ballast weight Ballast weight is something that is added to a race car to alter its performance. In most racing series, cars have a minimum weight. Often, the actual weight of the car is lower, so ballast is used to bring it up to the minimum. The advantage i ...

(fixed internal and releasable external). Then the assembly of the passenger basket to its lift balloon envelope, laying out the balloon envelope fabric in a manner that facilitates efficient inflation. Prior to launch, it will require personnel to 'waft' the balloon envelope during horizontal burner operation to ensure an efficient fill. When the balloon envelope it itself airborne (but still not able to lift the basket with its pilot and any passengers), the ground crew will be required to hold ground tug ropes, to maintain the correct position of the balloon over the now vertically firing burner, and to prevent the basket from being uncontrollably dragged along the ground, until the balloon is totally full and capable of launch. Once in flight, the hot air balloon ground crew undertakes a new task, that of driving one or more '

chase vehicle Hot air ballooning is the activity of flying hot air balloons. Attractive aspects of balloon (aircraft), ballooning include the exceptional quiet (except when the propane burners are firing), the lack of a feeling of movement, and the bird's-e ...

s', initially to follow the progress and trajectory of the balloon in flight as best it can. Most hot air balloons have zero aviation-specific navigation aids, though modern pilots will typically utilize satellite navigation features found on many

smartphone A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whi ...

s, along with the mobile voice telephony to maintain contact with the chase vehicle. The final task of the chase vehicle will be to locate and attend the balloon landing site, to repatriate any passengers back to their respective location, and also to thoroughly deflate the balloon envelope, then correctly fold and stow away the envelope, along with the basket, and deliver all balloon equipment and its pilot back to their preferred location.

Airport ground crew

Ground crew who are employed by the individual

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...

include personnel who are tasked to do the following operations: aircraft fuelling suppliers, toilet effluent tank extraction operatives, interior cabin cleaners, aircraft exterior

de-icing Deicing is the process of removing snow, ice or frost from a surface. Anti-icing is the application of chemicals that not only deice but also remain on a surface and continue to delay the reformation of ice for a certain period of time, or prev ...

operatives, on-board food delivery suppliers (for crew and passengers), baggage, cargo and / or freight handlers (for loading and offloading into the lower hold), ramp agents and boarding gate operatives, flight dispatchers, and even customer service agents, may also loosely be described as ground crew. Other typical airport ground crew include personnel who are responsible for regular routine sweeping of all operational

runway According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt, concrete ...

s, runway exits and hold points,

taxiway A taxiway is a path for aircraft at an airport connecting runways with aprons, hangars, terminals and other facilities. They mostly have a hard surface such as asphalt or concrete, although smaller general aviation airports sometimes use gravel ...

s, hardstanding (parking) areas, and passenger terminal areas (including sky-bridges or 'gates'); for clearing of any general and typical debris or garbage (most commonly collected on runways is tyre debris, and wind-blown dirt, sand, earth, grass, etc; not only from ambient winds, but also from the vortices generated by the aerodynamic elements of an aircraft at speed, along with engine induction and jet exhaust thrust). This is absolutely critical to safe airport operations, as it the major process used to prevent

foreign object damage In aviation and aerospace, foreign object debris (FOD), is any particle or substance, alien to an aircraft or system, which could potentially cause damage. External FOD hazards include bird strikes, hail, ice, sandstorms, ash-clouds or obje ...

(FOD), whereby a foreign object could sucked into an aircraft engine, or cut and puncture aircraft tyres. On military facilities, ground crew members are tasked with daily FOD walks, or 'FOD plods', whereby a team of people will fan out in a line across the entire width of the runway, and walk the length of the entire active runway, to visually inspect the runway surface, and its immediate environs, to look for and removes any items or 'foreign objects' found; this is typically done in the morning, prior to the first despatch of an aircraft for that day. Virtually all airports which cater for large aircraft will have a fleet of

pushback In aviation, pushback is an airport procedure during which an aircraft is pushed backwards away from its parking position, usually at an airport gate by external power. Pushbacks are carried out by special, low-profile vehicles called ''pushback ...

tugs. Other possible classifications of airport ground crews may include airport shuttle bus drivers, airport firefighters, first aid and qualified medical services, police (often

armed Armed (May, 1941–1964) was an American Thoroughbred gelding race horse who was the American Horse of the Year in 1947 and Champion Older Male Horse in both 1946 and 1947. He was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in ...

in these days of high risks of potential terrorist attacks), and general guard and security services. Airports with international connections will also have passport control agents, border, customs and immigration force officers. Many airports also have a live animal reception centre, staffed by vets, veterinary nurses, and administrators; for the purposes of checking animal health and welfare, along with correct documentation such as permits to fly,

pet passport The Pet Travel Scheme ("PETS") is a system which allows animals to travel easily between member countries without undergoing quarantine. A pet passport is a document that officially records information related to a specific animal, as part of th ...

s, etc, and will also be responsible for the prevention of importing any illegal, prohibited, or endangered species of animal. Dependent on geographic location, other airport ground crew may also employ

winter service vehicle A winter service vehicle (WSV), or snow removal vehicle, is a vehicle specially designed or adapted to clear thoroughfares of ice and snow. Winter service vehicles are usually based on a dump truck chassis, with adaptations allowing them to carr ...

s, specifically snow clearance vehicles; including fleets of multiple sweepers,

ploughs A plough or plow ( US; both ) is a farm tool for loosening or turning the soil before sowing seed or planting. Ploughs were traditionally drawn by oxen and horses, but in modern farms are drawn by tractors. A plough may have a wooden, iron or ...

, and

snow blower A snow blower or snow thrower is a machine for removing snow from an area where it is problematic, such as a driveway, sidewalk, roadway, railroad track, ice rink, or runway. The commonly used term "snow blower" is a misnomer, as the snow is ...

s. Ground

operatives may be used; whereby one or more vehicles, similar to an agricultural crop sprayer with fold-out extendible boom arms is used to spray a non-corrosive aircraft-safe de-icing fluid onto all operational hard surfaces, to melt any existing surface ice, and prevent the formation of new ice during the certified operating hours of the airport. Furthermore, teams of avian dispersal agents, commonly known as 'bird scarers' will be utilised to clear any birds, especially along the entire length runway, and also on the runway approach glide-paths, and runway departure paths.

Military airport

For military

airbase An air base (sometimes referred to as a military air base, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base) is an aerodrome used as a military base by a military force for the operation ...

s which operate (or may be required to operate) armed aircraft, ie, those aircraft capable of carrying explosive ordinance, or rapid-fire canons; an extremely specific ground crew role is the weapons technician.

References

Occupations in aviation Aircraft mechanics {{Aviation-stub