Gettin Older

Editorial Staff

Thursday, July 31, 2014 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

The pilot population is trending older, bringing valuable experience but also challenges such as slower reaction times and increased medical conditions that can affect flight safety.
Pilots are ultimately responsible for their long-term medical fitness for flight, requiring proactive health maintenance through healthy diet, exercise, and adequate rest.
A proactive approach to health, including preventative measures and lifelong learning, is crucial for optimizing physical and cognitive performance, mitigating age-related decline, and ensuring smooth FAA medical certification.

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Concerns about pilot aging are just as important for the younger pilot as for the more silver-haired among us. The US population is getting greyer, and it’s plain to see when looking around any airport, so too is the average pilot. This aging brings numerous challenges and a few rewards that should be important to all of us.

Trending Older
Of the more than 650,000 US certified pilots, nearly 10%, are over the age of 65 and more than 4700 are over the age of 80, and this aging of pilots overall will almost certainly continue. According to the U.S. Census Bureau in a 2008 press release, by 2030 nearly one in five U.S. residents is expected to be 65 or older, and by 2050 this age group is projected to more than double.