Pilot airplanes or helicopters over farmlands at low altitudes to dust or spray fields with fertilizers, fungicides, or pesticides.

“Pilot airplanes or helicopters over farmlands at low altitudes to dust or spray fields with fertilizers, fungicides, or pesticides.” is a supplemental task performed by Commercial Pilots. Among the occupation's 26 rated tasks, workers place it 1st by importance (#26 most important).

This is a single occupation-specific task statement from O*NET. The figures below describe how central the task is to the job and what independent studies measure about AI and this kind of work — not a prediction that the task will be automated.

AI exposure

The OpenAI / Eloundou “GPTs are GPTs” study rates this task E0. No direct exposure — current language models give little or no time savings on this task.

Exposure measures whether a model could meaningfully speed the task up — it is an estimate of overlap with model capabilities, not a measure of whether the work will be done by software. The study's intermediate score (β) for this task is 0.00. Automation potential label: T0.

Other tasks in this occupation

• Check aircraft prior to flights to ensure that the engines, controls, instruments, and other systems are functioning properly. · importance 5.0
• Co-pilot aircraft or perform captain's duties, as required. · importance 4.9
• Consider airport altitudes, outside temperatures, plane weights, and wind speeds and directions to calculate the speed needed to become airborne. · importance 4.9
• Use instrumentation to pilot aircraft when visibility is poor. · importance 4.9
• Monitor engine operation, fuel consumption, and functioning of aircraft systems during flights. · importance 4.8
• Order changes in fuel supplies, loads, routes, or schedules to ensure safety of flights. · importance 4.8
• Contact control towers for takeoff clearances, arrival instructions, and other information, using radio equipment. · importance 4.8
• Start engines, operate controls, and pilot airplanes to transport passengers, mail, or freight according to flight plans, regulations, and procedures. · importance 4.7
• Plan flights according to government and company regulations, using aeronautical charts and navigation instruments. · importance 4.7
• Check baggage or cargo to ensure that it has been loaded correctly. · importance 4.6
• Obtain and review data such as load weights, fuel supplies, weather conditions, and flight schedules to determine flight plans and identify needed changes. · importance 4.6
• Conduct in-flight tests and evaluations at specified altitudes and in all types of weather to determine the receptivity and other characteristics of equipment and systems. · importance 4.4
• Choose routes, altitudes, and speeds that will provide the fastest, safest, and smoothest flights. · importance 4.4
• Write specified information in flight records, such as flight times, altitudes flown, and fuel consumption. · importance 4.3

See all tasks on the Commercial Pilots page.

Sources for this page

Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

• O*NET 30.3 U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development
• “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic

Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

@misc{singulariki-task-10611,
  title  = {Pilot airplanes or helicopters over farmlands at low altitudes to dust or spray fields with fertilizers, fungicides, or pesticides.},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/tasks/task-10611}
}