In the profession analogy "Plane : pilot :: ship : ____", which person fills the second blank correctly?

Introduction / Context:
This analogy connects vehicles with the people who operate or command them. In the pair "Plane : pilot", the second word names the professional who is in control of the plane during flight. You must extend this relationship to a ship and select the person who holds a similar command position on that vessel. Understanding job roles and their associated responsibilities is essential for solving such analogy questions.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• A pilot is a trained person who flies and controls an aircraft.
• A ship is a large watercraft that requires a person in command for navigation and safety.
• The required pair is "vehicle : key operator or commander".
• Options list different roles and terms connected vaguely or directly with forces or travel.

Concept / Approach:
In the first pair, pilot is the professional directly responsible for operating the plane. We are not given co pilot or crew, but the main controlling position. For a ship, the equivalent role is the captain. The captain is in overall command of the vessel, responsible for navigation decisions, safety and crew management. Other terms in the options, such as soldier or major, belong more to army ranks. The word navy refers to an organisation, not an individual role. Therefore, captain best matches the pilot in terms of function and level of responsibility.

Step-by-Step Solution:

Recognise that the pattern is "vehicle : person who commands or operates it". Identify pilot as the operator in control of a plane. List possible commanding roles on a ship: captain, crew members and various officers. Note that captain is the standard term used for the person in overall command of a ship. Choose captain as the role that mirrors the relationship that pilot has with a plane.

Verification / Alternative check:
Examine the other options. Soldier is a general term for a member of the army, and major is an army rank, neither is specific to ships. Navy refers to a military branch that uses ships but is not a single person. Crew refers to the group of people working on board, not the individual in charge. Only captain is a specific rank that directly corresponds to the commanding person on a ship.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Soldier, navy and major do not describe the individual responsible for the navigation and direct command of a ship. Crew is a collective noun and does not match the single operator concept used for pilot. Since the analogy requires a one to one pairing between vehicle and operator role, these alternatives do not fit.

Common Pitfalls:
A frequent error is to pick a word that sounds associated with the sea or armed forces, like navy, without checking whether it describes a person or an organisation. Another mistake is to ignore the singular role focus and choose a group name like crew. When solving profession analogies, always check whether the candidate word matches both the function and the grammatical type of the example.

Final Answer:
The analogy is correctly completed as "Plane : pilot :: Ship : captain".