Accident Investigation: Is Age a Factor

[Jaba-who]

"It's about decision making, judgement and reflexes and older people in many cases retain all three." I can't understand why this subject is being regurgitated without any evidence to go on.

Sadly that's now being shown to be wrong. Even if it were true "In many cases retain" also means "in the rest they don't retain". "Many" then becomes a proportional argument not an absolute. And it now appears that "many" is actually "very few".

 

The evidence is mounting now at an astonishing rate and from widespread sources. As the population ages the significance of understanding age related cognitive degeneration has become medically and socially (and economically) more important and huge amounts of research are now being done and published. We are now using technology (functional MRI and PET scanning) to measure brain activity when people undertake repetitive tasks, new tasks and assess situations that are familiar, new and illusory. And the outcomes are scary, especially as I am getting older as well. :-(

 

When we test reflex timings, cognitive interpretation, spinal arc times and flash image interpretation (and a whole array of things) after age about 43 EVERY human being has degraded responses. The loss is then logarithmic as age advances. Now I am not saying that there are not individuals who have lost LESS than others. There are but the majority, by far and away follow a pattern of loss which is testable and predictable. And coupled to that is the loss of the ability to interpret that the deficits exist. Often the greater the loss the less the individual is capable (or willing) to accept the loss exists. Sort of like the brain decides it needs to hide the loss from itself lest it all be too depressing..

 

It has been repeatedly shown that if the situation that is before a person is familiar (and true) they are able to rely on memory, habit and training. The problem arises when the response is required rapidly (to prevent degeneration of the situation) or the situation is unusual, or is unfamiliar or changes rapidly or requires interpretation or contains any scope of illusion that can be misinterpreted. There is a direct correlation with age and decreasing capacity to "work on the fly". That ability does vary with some being better able to do it but like all natural systems there is a bell-curve in response and the majority fall into the big part of the bell and only a small number fall into the upper part of the bell curve . Sadly the sorts of tasks we are talking about , flying and coping with the rigors of flying require the person to be in that upper edge of the bell curve. Although I haven't seen studies looking specifically at testing elderly pilots, there is no reason to assume that persons with an interest in aviation or lifelong pilots are some how self selected to be in the group who are found only in the upper part of the bell curve.

 

I often see elderly whose relatives say to me "Granny is so alert and with-it. She lives independently and is as good as she was when she was 50/60/70 "

 

In reality - When Granny is in her home environment with everything going smoothly Granny is fine. But when anything changes Granny is not fine. Granny comes into hospital and falls apart because she is in an unfamiliar surroundings.

 

I have found numerous stories of elderly pilots who managed to survive (just and amazingly), despite all around them cringing when they saw so-and-so was dragging his bug smasher out of the hangar.

 

They include the hugely experienced 80 year old who went to sleep and flew through Melbourne controlled airspace on auto-pilot and woke up when he exited the other side and ATC saved the day, the 70 year old who finished his home built after 10 years and crashed it on not only its first flight, but then again on its first flight after he repaired it! His families intervention and illness finally stopped him having another go.

 

The 80 year old who suffered a number of heavy landings and dubious in-flight issues, and who only stopped because his arthritis stopped him getting into his plane. We all have seen or heard the stories and thought some-one should stop him, but what can you do?

 

Its an issue we find hard to approach because living to a ripe old age and being healthy enough (bodily not necessarily cognitively) to undertake lots of activities previously limited to the young is now common. But unfortunately nature never intended us to do it and the activities are increasingly those which require the same cognition we had when were young. As I said previously, in our headlong rush to not appear age-ist we have forgotten there are immutable laws of nature.

 

I have no answer nor am I putting forward one. When I'm older and happy buzzing around the paddock I don't want someone stopping me either. But that doesn't mean we should pretend there isn't an issue.

 

 

[turboplanner]

Jaba, I think the age issue is so important that you should split it away from this thread and give it its own space untainted from any suggestion age applied here.

 

We are at odds in some areas, but others I find very interesting, and they should be discussed and lessons taken away.

 

We have to be careful that we get it right, and don't penalise a section of the community as was done with the coming Diabetes laws which will deprive many of their drivers licences, also taking out some competent RAA pilots. The decisions there were not made based on accident statistics but by a leap to conclusion. They did involve the medical profession, but the medical information didn't match the driving safety requirement. The end result will be an added expense for diabetics to provide continuous test results, and where someone's blood test is out of the arbitrarily chosen limit for, I think three months in a row the licence will be cancelled. So a large chunk of the diabetic population will lose their mobility, and the side effect could be more community losses, not less.

 

 

[VFR Pilot]

All facets make up the world.

 

The more we exercise the brain the more healthier it stays.

 

Flying can be complex requiring good judgment and sound decision making, making it good stimulation and exercise for maintaining mental health and well being.

 

You probably know what I am talking about as it is obvious by your writing that you like to keep your brain active too.

 

I do agree though that we all reach a point in our lives where we must recognize our own cognitive degeneration and stop doing what we love most......Flying.

 

I think what I am saying is that just because we are getting older doesn't necessarily make us an unsafe pilot.

 

Complacency is probably more of a problem.

 

And no I am not in denial........yet

 

 

[farri]

The problem arises when the response is required rapidly (to prevent degeneration of the situation) or the situation is unusual, or is unfamiliar or changes rapidly or requires interpretation or contains any scope of illusion that can be misinterpreted. .

Jaba, I would say, that can apply to anyone at any age! It`s what I call " The Unkown Factor".

 

Frank.

 

 

[facthunter]

Watch out that this doesn't become a "bash the oldies" thing. Not all persons of an age group are senile or unfit but obviously there comes a time when an individual may not have what it takes. Just picking a figure is likely to be discriminatory. I know an 84 year old who wins motorcycle races regularly on his Matchless G 50. This doesn't happen by accident, as he usually starts from the back of the field, and has to pass every other rider Have I seen a few who should have given it up? YES. and that's a fairly considered opinion. Also most who feel they are not up to the task do give up. Some of the others are fairly stubborn, but "younger cowboys" are dangeroaus too Nev

 

 

[fly_tornado]

come off and his 84 yr old bones will make him pay a horrible price.

 

 

[turboplanner]

I’m making a response to Jaba Who's post not necessarily because I disagree with him – probably neither of us have the time to pull research records and source the data, but because RAA Certificates are linked to Driver’s Licence medical standards and some unusual and unfair knee-jerking is occurring at the political level which could end the flying days of a lot of older people.

 

 

The Police repeatedly come to the defence of older drivers, quoting accurate accident data which shows them in a minority, but this focus by certain sections of the community on older people will have a bigger effect on flying because most of the people who can afford aircraft or hourly rates are right in the sensitive age bracket.

 

 

So I’m posing some questions on what Jaba wrote – his post is in blue italics.

 

 

We are now using technology (functional MRI and PET scanning) to measure brain activity when people undertake repetitive tasks, new tasks and assess situations that are familiar, new and illusory. And the outcomes are scary

 

When we test reflex timings, cognitive interpretation, spinal arc times and flash image interpretation (and a whole array of things) after age about 43 EVERY human being has degraded responses. The loss is then logarithmic as age advances.

 

 

 

The key interest for motorists and pilots is not necessarily the brain response, but the response time to conclude correct action.

 

 

So for example, we can train ourselves by regular flying to respond instantly with throttle to windshear without even thinking. Our average time to response conclusion might be 50/100 second, fast people might be 25/100 second.

 

 

If we are affected by alcohol, and this can be as little as one glass of beer, or if we have a restless night our reflex reaction time can double.

 

 

But if we haven’t been flying for a few months, or have only flown in good weather conditions about once every month or so, we lose the reflex reaction, have to revert back to thinking about what to do and analysing what to do first – so our response time to completion can be around two or three seconds – six times as long, and with that delay, a number of actions in a number of cases will be too late and there will be an accident.

 

 

If something happens which we never expected, such as a huge bird flying into our flight path, or a vehicle driving across the runway, there is a “disbelief” factor which can stretch the delayed reaction by quite a few more seconds as the brain overco9mes its disbelief and shock, and comes up with a plan of action. Most of us have witnessed this in some form of action where we willed the person to do something but he just continued frozen into the accident.

 

 

In relation to the research you quote, what I would like to see is how it fits in with what I’ve outlined, and where it would be applicable.

 

 

For example what is the magnitude of degradation?

 

 

If it is 25% then the difference is not going to be more than the natural reaction time difference between slow and fast people.

 

 

If it is 50% that the response time to correct action is one second – still half the reaction time of a 20 year old pilot who hasn’t been regularly flying.

 

 

In that instance there’s not a case for pulling the licence of the older person.

 

 

 

Now I am not saying that there are not individuals who have lost LESS than others. There are but the majority, by far and away follow a pattern of loss which is testable and predictable. And coupled to that is the loss of the ability to interpret that the deficits exist. Often the greater the loss the less the individual is capable (or willing) to accept the loss exists. Sort of like the brain decides it needs to hide the loss from itself lest it all be too depressing..

 

 

What I meant with my earlier comments, is the ones who have lost less, or who meet the minimum standards should be allowed to drive/fly.

 

 

The decision, particularly in the light of the second part of the paragraph, is that the test should be external and ongoing at a known interval.

 

 

It has been repeatedly shown that if the situation that is before a person is familiar (and true) they are able to rely on memory, habit and training. The problem arises when the response is required rapidly (to prevent degeneration of the situation) or the situation is unusual, or is unfamiliar or changes rapidly or requires interpretation or contains any scope of illusion that can be misinterpreted. There is a direct correlation with age and decreasing capacity to "work on the fly".

 

 

This test, if applied to a complete age cross section I’d suggest, will produce two groups – those who respond accurately under pressure and those who don’t.

 

 

A person can often adapt to this with a pre-planned response. For example, my grandmother could never seem to learn how to do a handbrake start – even when she was young. When approach her ‘80’s and subjected to regular testing, she always arranged the test for a neighbouring town in flat country. The Police got wind of this, and next time round she was told to do the test in her home town, and the cop took her to the steepest hill and told her to park there. She said “But I’d never park here”, and he let her off.

 

 

I accept that pre-planned responses can mask the ability to react to an emergency, but in that case we need to test their response to an emergency – they may be in the first group I mentioned above.

 

 

 

They include the hugely experienced 80 year old who went to sleep and flew through Melbourne controlled airspace on auto-pilot and woke up when he exited the other side and ATC saved the day.

 

 

Was this age related or Human Factors related?

 

I hit a post at the age of 18 after falling asleep at the wheel, a lot of others under 25 in my district died. You would need the data on whether he regularly fell asleep as a direct result of age.

 

 

 

The 70 year old who finished his home built after 10 years and crashed it on not only its first flight, but then again on its first flight after he repaired it! His families intervention and illness finally stopped him having another go.

 

 

We’re about to see a crash I suspect from someone who is old, but the cause will be that he is hard headed and will not let a professional test the aircraft. The question about the example is whether he followed procedure and had the aircraft flown by a test pilot to iron out any design or build faults and the answer is a telling “No”. The second question is what was his recency, training and hours on type, and we don’t know.

 

 

 

The 80 year old who suffered a number of heavy landings and dubious in-flight issues, and who only stopped because his arthritis stopped him getting into his plane. We all have seen or heard the stories and thought some-one should stop him, but what can you do?

 

 

Same again, from this report we don’t know, but it might well be that the family knew his skills were deteriorating.

 

 

 

 

Conclusion

 

We need to start to examine this subject and find some answers before anyone else does, because it is not as clear cut as some people think.

 

 

I had stereotyped “too old” as being when drivers put their foot on the accelerator instead of the brake and went straight through a shop. It seemed very straightforward.

 

 

I thought it had come to me one day pulling in to a Bunnings car park when the car failed to slow down as I put my foot on the brake. I pushed harder and the car tried to accelerate, and I finished up against the concrete divider looking at a nice new BMW standing on the brake with the engine roaring, at which time I turned the ignition off.

 

 

This was a “disbelief” situation which had taken 3 or 4 seconds.

 

 

I thought the throttle had jammed open, so shaking, I set the transmission in park, pulled the handbrake on and gingerly started the engine. It just idled.

 

 

Luckily the same thing happened a couple of days later but on an open road coming up to an intersection, and I had time to see what was going on. I had progressively been braking further and further out on the brake pedal until only half my foot was on it – so when I pressed harder my foot contacted the throttle pedal. I few days forcing myself to use a less comfortable position ensured I’ve driven like a young person ever since.

 

 

We always need to investigate before we make snap decisions on people’s livelihood or quality of life

 

 

 

 

 

[poteroo]

Yes, it's fast becoming a question of how many 'tests' is enough. Science has created the technologies which allow for medical science to test us all to the Nth degree - but who sets the benchmarks for all these new datasets? In any case - where has risk based assessment gone? Before the regulators decide on arbitary cutoff points with all these new and accurate tests, maybe they need to link them to realistic risk assessment.

 

I'm told by a medical mate that the RPL 'medical' (drivers licence (aviation)) is so restrictive in cardiology and a couple other sections that one has a better chance of passing a straight Class 2. As well, apparently, very few GP's are interested in conducting them.

 

And yes, I'm affected by it already, with hassles in retaining my Class 1 medical. Thank God that my days' flying is still safer than the drive home! All those really old people, plus several roundabouts, make for a really exciting drive.

 

happy days,

 

 

[Gnarly Gnu]

Old age may not be as much as factor as prior drug use (legal and illegal). I've noticed by middle age a pot-head / prior pot user or alchie has lost a lot of cells and is often struggling with basic mental function rather like early onset alzheimers. It's like they are trying hard to comprehend but the circuits aren't fully connected. The great majority of older folk I know who haven't destroyed themselves thus are plenty sharp.

 

 

[Jabiru7252]

Teenagers suffer the same as oldies but because their brains are still wiring whereas us oldies brains are unwiring, hence teenagers get 'better', oldies don't. Read that in a study on brain disease a few years ago.

 

 

[FlyingVizsla]

Age is a factor - just finished doing a statistical submission to keep our hospital and ambulance - here's what I found for the former Bauhinia Shire (Springsure - Rolleston district in Qld)

 

16-24 year olds are 8.53% of the population but were the driver/rider in 27.7% of crashes which involved a fatality & 38.3% with serious injury

 

60+ year olds are 18.61% of the population but were the driver/rider in 20.5% of crashes which involved a fatality & 12.8% with serious injury

 

This is a sparsely populated area of 23,600km2 with two towns (pop 830 & 80) and 2 highways traversing it, more gravel road than sealed, low traffic numbers. Less than 2% of fatalities / serious injury involved hitting another vehicle, the rest were mostly leaving the road, overturning or hitting an object, followed by hitting an animal, caused by fatigue followed by alcohol, wet road. Men outnumber women by 58% to 42%, but men account for 62.7% of crashes.

 

The most dangerous - Wednesday, between 2pm-4pm & 6pm-8pm, May, 16-24yr old driver, male, ute.

 

The highest casualty number was for 17-24year olds.

 

These statistics will be different for other areas. Because traffic is quiet and there is no public transport, a lot of our elderly still drive, and because we are a farming area a lot of young people were driving on farm long before they were old enough for a licence.

 

Does this translate to flying? Who knows.

 

Sue

 

(0.245% possibility of being a causality in my area)

 

 

[fly_tornado]

No cars aren't planes.

 

 

[facthunter]

Cars and motorbikes and planes use similar motor and coordination skills. Some folks never have them at a good level but are a minority. During my lifetime I have had the opportunity to see plenty of pilots converting onto other types (which is always a testing time) NO pun intended. You probably peak at about 35 years. Experience and deterioration interact.

 

Some as early as mid 50's slow a bit . U/L's being small reactive aircraft would sort the sheep from the goats. A good test in gusty conditions will show any deficiency. You can't really hide your performance from someone who has done a fair bit of flying and testing/observing. Ultralight flying because of the limitation of privileges should not be as "policed" as say Airline work because more lives are at stake there and they pay for and expect a safe service. One should have as much freedom to do things that don't affect others much as possible. I used to swim right out at sea past the breakers. Heaven knows why I wasn't taken by a shark. I am more cautious with flying. Nev

 

 

[Bandit12]

Not helpful FT. Sue's car data is probably indicative of the most useful data we are likely to be able to get in Australia. Our aviation industry here is generally too small, and the numbers of accidents/incidents too small for statistical analysis without using decades of data, and that is not likely to be applicable anyway because aviation today is not the same as 20 years ago.

 

So the best you can do is look for data that might be somewhat comparable. Even the US accident data is only somewhat comparable, unless you can prove that aviation here is the same as over there.

 

 

[Guest nunans]

The insurance companies do all the research into risk liability, It's definately expensive to insure when you're under 25, Does it get expensive again when you reach your 80's? I don't know.

 

 

[turboplanner]

16-24 year olds are 8.53% of the population but were the driver/rider in 27.7% of crashes which involved a fatality & 38.3% with serious injury

60+ year olds are 18.61% of the population but were the driver/rider in 20.5% of crashes which involved a fatality & 12.8% with serious injury

 

These are your figures for fatals only. The young people are over-represented for their number, and the over 60's are over-represented slightly.

 

This is consistent with National and State figures I've seen through the years, and results in governments throwing big dollars at education programs for young people, which so far have missed the mark. Young people are on the road a lot more, and often partying, which introduces the influences of alcohol and fatigue as causal factors.

 

What would be helpful here if older people were to be accurately assessed would be a similar analysis by year of the over 60's group.

 

But given the low over-averaging it wouldn't save a lot of lives.

 

I've been involved in assessing race car and truck figures in finer detail, and one particular year in Victoria the State had managed to achieve a record low fatality figure, which included 47 deaths. Since we almost knew who they were, we analysed every one, and found that about 43 deaths resulted from going to sleep at the wheel - all out on country roads. Several years later the end result of a lot of effort by a lot of people was a set of stringent fatigue regulations and a formal chain of responsibility path, where if the distribution manager ordered a truck to get goods into Adelaide "by 6 am or else!" and the driver was speeding or fudging his log book, the distribution manager was charged. Within three years of this legislation biting we are seeing a measurable drop in truck fatalities.

 

I mention this to show that if you do the research methodically and it does show up a trend, then corrective action will produce tangible results.

 

Conversely, if you don't get the research right, and just target a population group randomly, you get a lot of angst and no reduction in accidents.

 

So FV I think your figures do point us in the right direction and do tell us that the "older pilot" issue needs to be approached methodically.

 

 

[planet47]

Teenagers suffer the same as oldies but because their brains are still wiring whereas us oldies brains are unwiring, hence teenagers get 'better', oldies don't. Read that in a study on brain disease a few years ago.

 

Old age may not be as much as factor as prior drug use (legal and illegal). I've noticed by middle age a pot-head / prior pot user or alchie has lost a lot of cells and is often struggling with basic mental function rather like early onset alzheimers. It's like they are trying hard to comprehend but the circuits aren't fully connected. The great majority of older folk I know who haven't destroyed themselves thus are plenty sharp.

 

Anecdotal evidence! I was told by someone else who heard someone else talking about something they read! Perhaps the use of longitudinal studies, whereby a person's progress or regress is tested say every 5 years. This would be assuming that those that participate are subject to the same environmental conditions, etc as each other. A good example of longitudinal studies was that conducted in Broken Hill for the effects of lead dust. But then what are you actually testing for? Are we talking use of control groups, randomised trials perhaps. Is everyone's brains wired the same way? Do they slightly differ in the shape of the lobes, ventricles, etc? Who was subjected to events that affected their neuroplasticity at an early age. Maybe the answer is that everyone in the whole wide world undergoes a full MRI scan of the brain (nah full body) at age 20 say, in the event that in their lifetime they may want to learn to fly as a recreational pass time.

 

As for teenagers and their brains still wiring, it is a known that the connection between the frontal lobes particularly in males does not occur until their late 20s. This leads to impulsive behaviour. Drug and alcohol use - every day I see it through work where people young and old have fried their brain cells and they then have the auditory and visual hallucinations for the remainder of their lives. They object to the use of psychiatric drugs claiming that its not a natural product like the THC or the alcohol that they used and the world takes care of them forever more. Its really sad to have to do a modified mini mental state examination on a 35 year old because you know that the person concerned hasn't a hope in hell of answering all the questions and then they score 7 out of 15. Yet the young ones never think this will be them in a few years if they don't stop now.

 

 

 

[M61A1]

One should have as much freedom to do things that don't affect others much as possible. Nev

Absolutely.......I think our legislators and enforcers spend far too much time trying to protect us from ourselves.I have noticed of late, articles in the paper about people being charged, and fined or jailed, for participating in an "unregulated, high risk activity", usually after they climbed something. Then a bit of carry on follows about how the nice policeman had to risk his life to stop the offender.

On topic now....I also live in a country area, where a lot of older folk rely on driving for their independence. There are some that still drive as well as anyone, but it is quite plain that a significant number have deteriorated a lot. I know myself, in relation to riding dirt bikes, I still do it, just not as often as I used to, and as I've aged( I'm over 40), I have lost a lot of the edge, (the sharp judgement and quick instinctive reflex) that I used to have when I was younger. I still ride road bikes regularly, even then though, I can detect, a difference in my riding after a few weeks off the bike, and as I've aged, that difference has become greater. I can still outride, many younger riders, but, I can pick the difference in myself.

 

 

[Jabiru Phil]

A very good mate of mine of 83 years of age who suffered a mild stroke a year ago went for his driving test recently. He is restricted to the 60 km zone in our country town. Apparently he failed the "test" because he couldn't describe the difference between a double white line and a broken one.

 

This mate has been driving accident free since 16 having vast experience on trucks to and from The markets. Etc.

 

He and his wife are grateful that they can drive from their retirement home to collect the mail and have some repoire with the locals. He is being victimised by the system

 

IMHO

 

Phil

 

 

[turboplanner]

I know myself, in relation to riding dirt bikes, I still do it, just not as often as I used to, and as I've aged( I'm over 40), I have lost a lot of the edge, (the sharp judgement and quick instinctive reflex) that I used to have when I was younger.

Being self critical will save you from a lot of incidents, because you tailor your behaviour to your present capabilities - these people often go through life with virtually no accidents.

 

What you are saying could be correct, but also the cause could just be the lower frequency of riding - so if you returned to doing it as often as you used to, it's possible you could get right back in the groove. My own experience with racing was that if I was building a new car and away from the track for 12 months, I was hopeless and had to start all over again to get in the groove. It only took two or three heats, but I always made sure I ran rear of field.

 

I still ride road bikes regularly, even then though, I can detect, a difference in my riding after a few weeks off the bike, and as I've aged, that difference has become greater. I can still outride, many younger riders, but, I can pick the difference in myself.

Again, this self critical attitude in my opinion is a much bigger factor than is generally recognised and stops you from opening that throttle wide and getting into trouble. I can tell my driving is off after two beers, and become more cautious accordingly.

 

It might also be that as I've got older I've slowed down in reflexes and I have to accept that as a fact, but I've mitigated this by reducing the number of borderline situations. It would be interesting to include this factor in crash investigations.

 

What I found from extensive studies of race crashes was that speed was only incidental (since we were encouraging the drivers to break records), but environment saved lives (removing solid objects from the field, providing a concrete safety fence and catch fence, allowing some progressive crumple but preventing driver crush, securely restraining the driver, providing fire resistant clothing, arm restraints, neck braces, head protection, and equally important - controlling driver behaviour.

 

Most of this is not applicable to pilots, not the least reason being there's a low incidence of impact from predicable directions.

 

However behaviour does transfer, and will save lives.

 

 

[M61A1]

The environments are entirely different, but as you say, the behaviours, may well make a difference. I try to be self critical, I would hope that most people with an inclination to fly would be.....but I suspect not. The same would go for most drivers, I see a lot of denial. At least with flying you can limit the physical damage reasonably well by flying solo or with another pilot, and keeping well away from the general population, if you're on a public road in 1.5 tons of steel, that different. Training regularly may help, if I understand correctly the more often a process is carried out, the better the neuron paths become, and it becomes instinctive. Yeager and Hoover are still at it (as far as I know), and do it regularly.

 

 

[fly_tornado]

The biggest issue with age is physical deterioration, try this exercise. Stand on one foot with your arms by your side, then close your eyes. As you get older your inner ear deteriorates which affects your sense of balance.

 

 

[VFR Pilot]

It seems to me that there is a lot of people out there that are so far in thought that they don't know where they have been, or where they are going.

 

If I don't fly in controlled airspace or over built up areas then leave me alone to enjoy my life the way I want to.

 

If I can't live my live then you might as well kill me at 50 for everybody else's protection.

 

 

[facthunter]

Don't give them the idea, or they might do it.. You work all your life and IF you can't indulge a bit in your latter years, what has all the waiting and saving been for. Some people do ridiculously dangerous things for the excitement, that has a much higher chance of a violent death. Keep things in perspective. Nev

 

 

[Yenn]

I have never tried to fly an aeroplane, standing on one leg with my eyes closed. I know it is the latest fad of health experts. Possibly the knowledge that you can't do it will let you rely on your instruments, rather than the seat of your pants.

 

Most accidents seem to be caused by fatigue, or as I would rather call it boredom. When we drive a car every decision is pre made for us by some petty beaurocrat, there is very little decision making left to the driver.

 

Driving a car has very little in common with piloting an aeroplane. Cars are passing within a metre or so from each other at closing speeds of 200kph. That doesnt happen very often with aircraft and if it does there is far more room to manouever. Flying needs intense concentration at beginning and end of a flight and maybe if there is a problem, during flight, but there is seldom a need for extremely fast reflex action, in fact acting too fast can lead to incorrect decision making.

 

Looking at the pilots I see, the young seem to make bad decisions, often copying poor conduct by others. The older pilots sometimes show bad piloting by irrational acts which depend upon their experience to get them out of trouble. Some old pilots go on past their use by date, but they seem to get over cautious.

 

The way I see it age is not the problem, old or young can be good pilots, but it more an attitude of mind rather than years.

 

Of course I may be biased and even past my prime, being nearer 80 than 60 years old.