Does Airline Pilot Performance Decrease with Age and is this Observable during Routine Regulatory Checks

Abstract

Introduction: The regulatory age limits for pilots are based on the premise that the performance of pilots decreases with increasing age. The aim of this research is to investigate whether performance decline is apparent in an airline annual regulatory simulator checks as pilots grow older.

Method: The data from 11 years of simulator checks for a cohort of 1008 commercial airline pilots was examined using descriptive analysis and generalised estimated equation models to assess trends in performance related to pilot age.

Results: Several variables had statistically significant effects on the simulator performance scores of flying pilots and the most common variable was age, which was associated with small decrements in performance as age increased.

Conclusion: Decrements in performance were associated with age but the level of performance decrease could not be considered practically important. The implications for these results are that the ICAO age restrictions and the NZCAA pairing restrictions should be revisited considering only applicable research. Future research should consider whether pairing restrictions do improve safety, and whether a functional age/workability index for airline pilot medical assessments would indicate whether fit and healthy older pilots can still safely fly.