OLDER PILOTS PERFORM BETTER, STUDY FINDS

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OLDER PILOTS PERFORM BETTER, STUDY FINDS

Researchers studying the impact of aging on performance found that
older pilots performed better over time than younger pilots, the
American Academy of Neurology reported on Monday (). The results
show that expert knowledge may offset the impact of old age. The
report is sure to be warmly embraced by those now lobbying for a
change in FAA rules to raise the mandatory retirement age for
airline pilots from 60 to 65. "These findings show the
advantageous effect of prior experience and specialized expertise
on older adults' skilled cognitive performances," said researcher
Joy Taylor of the Stanford/VA Aging Clinical Research Center in
California.
http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archive...ll.html#194563

http://www.calpilots.org/html/
For the study, researchers tested 118 pilots, ages 40 to 69,
annually for three years. All pilots were currently flying, had
between 300 and 15,000 hours of total flight time and held a
current FAA medical certificate. In flight simulators, pilots were
tested on communications, traffic avoidance, scanning cockpit
instruments to detect emergencies, and executing a visual
approach.



http://www.aan.com/press/press/index...ew&release=445
The study found while older pilots initially performed worse than
younger pilots, older pilots showed less of a decline in overall
flight summary scores than younger pilots, and over time their
traffic avoidance performances improved more than that of younger
pilots. The study also found pilots with advanced FAA pilot
ratings and certifications showed less performance decline over
time, regardless of age.

...

Researchers suggest that pilots with advanced FAA pilot ratings
may maintain performance over time due to a mechanism of preserved
task-specific knowledge, known as crystallized intelligence, which
is similar to what is seen in music or expert chess playing.