I would say that it is false that the sentence uses the proper pronoun. We don't know whether the crew member is a man or a woman, which is why you cannot use <em>him </em>here. You should say - them. If we knew it was a man, then <em>him </em>would be fine.
It is important for the author to write her story in first Person because it helps the reader connect to the story and understand more of what she is thinking and experiencing
