Crew roles balance aircraft safety and ASW mission control

The normal KA-27 crew consists of a pilot, navigator, and navigator-operator. Although flying is formally the pilot's role, accounts from people who work with the aircraft describe navigators and navigator-operators learning enough to assist or land it in an emergency. That reported practice is separate from the division of authority during a mission. The pilot is aircraft commander, while the navigator often acts as mission commander and directs the anti-submarine search. The pilot can reject a route on flight-safety grounds, but cannot replace assigned tasking with a preferred destination. Mission authority likewise does not justify disregarding aviation hazards. This balance resembles Western naval practice, with responsibility for flying the aircraft distinct from responsibility for the ASW operation.