On a trip from Tampa, Florida, to New Orleans, FLYING contributor Dick Karl had a bird strike–a big one. [Courtesy: Dick Karl]
Key Takeaways:
After a severe illness, an experienced pilot approaching 80 faces significant hurdles in resuming aircraft ownership, especially concerning insurance and affordability.
Despite a long history of predictable premiums, a major bird strike claim and his age (77) caused his annual jet insurance premium to skyrocket to over $90,000, forcing him to sell the aircraft.
The author's experience highlights prevalent age discrimination in the aviation insurance market, where extensive experience and recurrent training offers were disregarded.
He is now evaluating more affordable aircraft options like the Cirrus SR22 or Cessna 340, which, while still expensive to insure (estimated $35,000-$42,000 annually), offer a path to continue flying.
There were several months last winter when I cared nothing about airplanes. Bedridden for a month by the one-two punch of a bone marrow transplant for acute myeloid leukemia, I was so sick that I didn’t think about my lifelong love—aviation.
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Dick Karl is a cancer surgeon who appreciates the beauty and science involved in both surgery and flying. Dick’s monthly Gear Up celebrates the human side of flying. He writes about his enthusiasm for both the machines and the people who fly and maintain them.
