Should anyone be flying at 86 years of age...

[Guest fullstoplanding]

"I too would feel much better flying with a fit 86 y.o. with 10000 flying hours than with a 18 y.o. that just got his PPL."Either one, it wouldn't make any difference to me. A young pilot who is qualified is just as capable of safe flight as an old pilot. --Roger

[Murmur 3,941]

>Either one, it wouldn't make any difference to me. A young>pilot who is qualified is just as capable of safe flight as an>old pilot. I didn't say a 18 y.o. is not capable of safe flight, I'm just saying more flight hours mean, FROM A STATISTICAL POINT OF VIEW, less probability of an accident. So yes, for me it would make a difference.Marco

[quantumleap 1]

>considering 4 16 year olds plowed>into my flying partners house in a car going 100 mph at 10:30>pm doing considerable damage to his houseThis statement reminded me of some digging I did when this topic was initially raised regarding age and car accidents. I found a number of research reports which highlighted that the 16-24 year old age group had a disproportinate number of accidents compared to other groups (seem to remember it was something just over 10% more than other age groups used).The research went on to indicate that the main reason seemed to be that this age group was willing to accept and take more risks when related to how fast they drove and how close they drove to the vehicles in front than those over that age.Does this 'risk judgement' also translate across into aviation? Has this any relevance to why as mentioned earlier that the minimum age for an ATP rating is 23?Jeff

[Donmo 6]

I knew a pilot in his mid forties who dropped dead from a heart attack two days after passing his medical. I also knew a man who was close to 90 years old who flew from N.J. to Florida every year with his wife. His original ticket was signed by one of the Wright brothers. My grandfather flew as a flight engineer in 720's until the age of 75. Another case was a man who owned a ranch in the Everglades. He asked me to fly out and help him one afternoon, but I had already commited my after-hours time to finding some beers at the local pub with my flight instructor. He brought his neighbor with him instead, a young 15 year old boy. He had a heart attack on short final and both died in the crash. He was in perfect health before that. It all depends on one's mind and health, but as we know, bad health can hide from the best of doctors. A bad mind becomes obvious eventually. The only reason I would feel comfortable flying with an elderly pilot is as a licensed pilot, I know I could get back on the ground in one piece if something happened to him/her. If I didn't have a license, there would be no way I would get in the plane!Don

[Guest fullstoplanding]

"The only reason I would feel comfortable flying with an elderly pilot is as a licensed pilot..."At what age do you feel the pilot becomes an elderly pilot--65, 70, 72, higher? :-hmmm :-)--Roger

[Donmo 6]

Elderly will always be 20 years older than I am! LOL! So we'll go with 72! :)Don

[Guest fullstoplanding]

Don,I'm cool with that. :-beerchug--Roger

[ejoiner 21]

He shouldnt have even been driving IMHO.I think this was also a contribution to what killed Scott Crossfield.

[Geofa 108]

Seems like thunderstorms contributed to Scott Crossfields death.What info do you have that shows age was the problem?http://www.mediafire.com/imgbnc.php/1b5baf...b9f427f694g.jpgMy blog:http://geofageofa.spaces.live.com/

[Geofa 108]

Speaking of 72- a renowned cfi (I worked with him for 5 sessions) with 20,000+ hours and every experience you can imagine and an incredible pilot/teacher at even 70 died in a horrible car crash this morning in my area.....(not an airplane).John Miller mentioned above sadly died at 102 years recently-he hadn't flown by himself since his 90's (seems he was self regulating like all good pilots).Interesting both these "old timers" went not in an airplane but other ways...but of course if one were to go in an airplane at this age it would be national news-a car-well I have to admit it was reported in a small section of our local newspaper-though age was not emphasized.http://www.mediafire.com/imgbnc.php/1b5baf...b9f427f694g.jpgMy blog:http://geofageofa.spaces.live.com/

[ejoiner 21]

only the inference that his judgement might not have been what it once was. Thats pejorative I know. Anybody with Crossfields huge experience probably shouldnt be questioned, but he made the decisions.