I wish to respond to comments on your letters page about the retirement age for pilots (Flight International 15-21, 22-28 October.)
With around 20,000 flight hours and more, pilots gain a lot of experience, and second, the risk of pilot incapacitation is not as present as many might expect.
But I think there are other, more important factors which require an age limit. There is no automatic summing up of experience with increasing age. As the wide field of experience is divided into many different sections, with many different skill requirements, I do not think that pilots close to retirement in general have the better skills throughout this spectrum. For example: if an airline changes standard operating procedures significantly after 20 years, who will take this sharp turn easier? A pilot with an age above or well below 60?
Herbert Schober Gaaden, Austria
Source: Flight International
