I like this game, but adding crew would be a great addition! I think it could be done in a patch. Crew could be implemented like weapons. There would be crew 'hardpoints' for ships. Although there would only be one type of hard point, the number available on each ship would vary. Light fighters would have at most one, while heavy transports could have many. Crew would be selected from vendors like ordnance is and would come in a variety of specialties (maybe skill levels too if that isn't too hard to implement, although more skillful crew would be more expensive). Each crew member would have to be paid a signing bonus (for insurance, fees, taxes, etc.) as well as receiving a percentage of any profits. Example specialist crew:

Helm officer - Handles navigation chores based on current mission, or pilots the ship when not on a mission (follows player waypoints automatically). Also pilots the ship while the player is engaged in any non piloting activity (basically while the ship is not in mouseflight). The helm officer can also automatically deploy shield boosters. The officer can also perform basic evasive maneuvers while in combat (great for freighters!).

Tactical officer - The tactical officer will automatically select targets for the player based on mission objectives or the safety of the ship. The officer can deploy countermeasures automatically as well as select weapon groups automatically for the player based on the shield/ship type of the enemy (only primary weapons, not missles/mines). A tactical officer can also perform evasive/offensive maneuvers while in cobat (but not navigation like a helm officer) if the ship is not in mouse flight.

Flight engineer - The flight engineer will boost the following ship stats: increase shield regeneration rate, reduce weapon energy use and increase booster recovery rate. They also reduce repair costs while at a base. The flight engineer can automatically deploy nanbots to repair the ship hull.

Payload specialist - The payload specialist can be a great benefit. They reduce commodity purchases price and increase commodity sale price by a small amount. Also, they can suggest the most profitable trade goods/routes (sorted by profitablilty) based on the players current location and current knowledge of the universe (although it's up to the player to determine if this route is safe The payload specialist will also automatically tractor in any free loot the player comes across, even in combat.

Turret gunners - Turret gunners do only one thing, but they do it very well, they man a single turret. Although they can only operate one turret at a time, they can switch turrets whenever they need to. Multiple Turret gunners can be hired to operate more than one turret at a time.