What does the fuselage contain?

• A. The fuselage contains crew, passengers, cargo, and additional fuel; the cockpit/flight deck contains the flight crew and instrumentation.
• B. The fuselage contains only fuel.
• C. The cockpit contains cargo.
• D. The wings contain the flight crew.

Answer: (A)

The fuselage is the main body of the airplane that carries the people and payload. It houses crew and passengers, as well as cargo, and on many aircraft includes center fuselage fuel tanks, so some fuel can be stored there as well. The cockpit, or flight deck, is a separate area at the front that holds the flight crew and the instrumentation they use to control the airplane. The wings typically contain fuel tanks too, but they’re not the place where the flight crew sits or where passengers typically travel. So the best description is that the fuselage contains crew, passengers, cargo, and sometimes additional fuel, while the cockpit contains the flight crew and instrumentation.