True story: A USAF F-105 Thunderchief pilot was shot down over North Vietnam, ejected and landed in the jungle. Coming up on his emergency radio, he was told a rescue mission was on the way, to hide out and to come back up on the frequency in an hour. The pilot waited for what seemed like an hour and called back; he once again was told to call back when the hour was up-in 55 more minutes.

The FAAs BasicMed alternative to a traditional medical certificate is an attractive option for many pilots, especially those of us who are now senior citizens. However, we should recognize that medical issues are not the only factors affecting our ability to fly as we get older. Even in the absence of pathology, age alters our cognitive processes: how we recognize and interpret situations, decide on courses of actions, manage our workload, remember crucial information and skillfully execute our plans. We may joke about our senior moments, but many of us wonder if our ability to continue flying skillfully and safely is being undermined.

Everyone occasionally forgets to perform some everyday task such as returning a phone call or depositing a check. But if the task is a flight-critical function, such as putting down the landing gear, surely no competent, conscientious pilot would forget, right? Well, no, even if it is a matter of life and death, pilots sometimes forget. For example, several airline catastrophes have occurred when a cockpit crew attempted to take off, forgetting to set flaps. Airline accidents have also occurred when cockpit crews forgot to lower the landing gear, turn on pitot heat, set hydraulic boost pumps to high, etc. The frequency of such oversights in the airline industry is much higher than the accident rate suggests because in most cases, the oversight is caught by a warning system in time for the crew to correct the situation.