Experienced pilots in Aspen have joined a task force to bring down the accident rate at the notorious local airport. Pitkin County commissioners approved formation of the task force, which is made up of 12 pilots who are familiar with the airport. There have been 40 serious general aviation accidents at Aspen in the last 40 years but none involving airliners. The airport is at 7800 feet, has a sloping runway surrounded by towering mountains and is subject to rapidly changing weather. Task force Chair Barry Vaughan said the group will make recommendations to county officials and won't have the authority to make any rules or changes itself.
This action will not help the problem, just prolong it. If you want to fix the problem you need to start at the roots. Get into the schools and make flying accessible and attractive as employment to everyone. Some schools are doing this but not all. Reach into the flight schools and support them with resources to keep CFI’s from departing for the airlines with the airlines extra bonus money. The average instructor reaches 1000 or 1500 hours and then departs for the extra money instead of staying around and teaching. Experienced instructors are far and wide and not that numerous, sure you can go to the airlines and still teach the airlines need you more.
If our marxist Secretary of Transportation is against it then it must be a very good proposal. The biggest issue with raising the age is the international scheduling impact it would have on airlines unless or until other countries agreed to change their age limits as well.
If it’s a question of safety, there’s ZERO DATA showing that allowing 121 crewed operations to continue to 67 would have any negative impact. In fact the opposite may be true…Allowing experienced pilot to stay in the cockpit for two more years would likely increase overall 121 safety. ALPA and others oppose this simply for political reasons. This proposed legislation runs counter to their business interests and has nothing to do with safety.
Im against encouraging and making it easier for the masses to become airline pilots. It’s like encouraging everyone to vote whether they have any clue about who they are voting for or whats on the ballot. We see how that turns out. I want my airline pilots to be people who put in the extra effort and passion for flying, who worked through the obstacles and made sacrifices. I want dedication. The world is filled with 5th place trophy winners who expect everything to be given to them. We already are a ways down the path where skin color and gender have become the most desirable qualifications.
How about just making it easier for PILOTS to become airline pilots? I know plenty of highly-qualified pilots who would consider the airlines if only they didn’t have to put up with the long and varying hours for comparatively low pay before making it to the majors. Make it so it’s attractive for people to switch careers INTO the airlines, instead of OUT OF them.
Exactly. Raising the retirement age likely won’t hurt safety, but it sure isn’t doing anything about the actual problem and will just delay it by 2 years. Either way, the airlines have to hire to replace those 5000 pilots, on top of adding additional pilots to meet the demand.
Looks like I triggered someone. I guess anyone that says something you disagree with must be a racist. That word has no meaning anymore. No longer has any relationship to the original definition. It’s just a term ignorant people throw out whenever they hear or read something they disagree with. It’s meant to immediately bring a person to heel. Really doesn’t work anymore.
Neither is there any data showing that allowing 121 crewed operations to continue would not have any negative impact. Increasing the retirement age could be safely accomplished if, and only if, it is coupled with a cognitive testing to weed out those whose abilities have declined to an unsafe point. However, both the airlines and the unions would oppose any such testing as many pilots below the retirement age would be disqualified.
Read Victor Davis Hanson’s “Cabinency of Dunces” where he is mentioned. He may not be a card carrying Marxist/communist but he sure is dumb one, if he is.
The problem is that there aren’t enough fresh faces in the pipeline to replace these older guys. This seems to be a very stopgap idea that in the end won’t make much of a difference. I’m a retired A&P and we have the same problem. Part of it is the younger folks don’t seem much interested in this business and why that is is not readily understood. Maybe they’re not interested in hard work and meeting tough standards.
The mindset I see is that too few want to get up, leave their internet connection and actually go to work in a profession where random drug tests and regular testing are requried.
Actually learning the material, passing tests and check rides where they have to perform and answer questions correctly, then grind through obtaining hours of experience, all with the risk of not being hired or making a mistake and having the doors all close? Fly all night? Awake at 0215 for a sixteen hour day? It’s too hard given the prevalent mindset.
Making it in aviation requires passion. If it’s not on a platter, they aren’t interested.
Some of you need to understand that there are already several countries who approve beyond 65 Operations. Australia and New Zealand have had no age limits for a very long time under their Human Rights legislation. Japan has 68 as a limit currently. Their are other countries as well. To suggest their is no data on safety for +65 Part 121 operations simply means ICAO and the FAA have done nothing to research the safety statistics that are available in those countries. I flew my last B777 flight as a 68 year old and I believe at the time I was the oldest Part 121 B777 pilot probably in the world. I am now 70 and still have a class 1 Medical and have no doubt I could return to the B777 now if I so desired. Frankly any age limit is discriminatory… The medical and flight testing required by most Aviation Authorities throughout the world should be sufficient to identify those who cant meet the required standards no matter their age.