posted on Tuesday, December 18, 2007 10:38 AM
by
Lou Michels
Old School Flying
The saying goes that, "There are old pilots and there are bold pilots, but there are no old, bold pilots." It's also true that in the United States, there are no old commercial pilots at all, at least over the age of 60, because the FAA has consistently enforced a rule first put into effect back in the 50s that requires commercial pilots to retire at age 60. The basis of the rule is the belief that flying requires keen sensory acuity and rapid-fire reflexes that are incompatible with the condition of average pilot once he reaches age 60. These kinds of attributes were especially critical in emergency situations.
Of course, this type of blatant age stereotyping has been undercut by the fact that we now have astronauts fly at or above age 60. And the requirement that pilots need to be at the absolute peak of physical capability has been reduced substantially by the numerous automated systems in modern commercial jets that greatly limit the need for instantaneous, "white-knuckle" responses to in-flight emergencies. So it was not too surprising when Congress passed a bill recently lifting the mandatory retirement age to 65 for commercial pilots.
Most modern aviation accidents are the result of some type of error in judgment on the part of the crew, either in misinterpreting or misreading instrument settings, or misjudging the weather or physical state of the aircraft. And there is no doubt that more "experienced" pilots generally have better judgment than younger pilots in these types of situations.
The President signed the legislation almost immediately. Strike another blow against age-related stereotyping, although international treaty requirements will mandate that airlines cannot put two pilots over the age of 60 in the same cockpit at the same time. I suspect that restriction will eventually fall by the wayside as well as the air-traffic control corridors become more regulated and flying safety becomes even less dependent on physical capability.