SOB stands for souls on board, a strict tally that includes every living human on the aircraft, covering paying passengers, flight crew, deadheading staff, and infants. Air traffic control and emergency responders require this exact number during an in-flight emergency to know exactly how many people need rescue if the aircraft goes down. The term stems from maritime tradition and deliberately ignores ticketing status.
Heard on the job
Tower, this is flight two niner, declaring an emergency. We have 142 SOB and two hours of fuel remaining.
Insider tip
Rescue crews look for souls, not passengers, which is why infants sitting on laps are always counted in the SOB total.
Also heard as
- souls on board
- POB