“Fatigue, stress, dehydration and sickness impact our performance in the left seat regardless of age. But the bad news is that these factors are acerbated with age. Self-assessing sleep quantity and quality, nutrition, fluid intake and stress levels should be a routine part of the pre-flight.”
Standing at the doorstep of yet another new year, I can’t help but feel like each successive trip around the sun continues to accelerate. As a kid, I always lamented on December 26 that Christmas wouldn’t come again for ANOTHER WHOLE, 365 days. It seemed like an eternity. A few decades later (I’m not saying how many), I plead to Father Time, can’t you slow down the pace a bit? What’s the hurry…a slow shuffle will do.
I have plans for copious amounts of flying in 2022, and hopefully, you do, too. Many of the trips we tabled the last two years are back on the calendar. We’ve missed people, especially good friends, family and work colleagues. Blessed with good health and a reliable airplane, we don’t take either for granted and hope to continue to fly for many more years.
But how do you know it is time to hang it up?
A good pilot friend of mine decided after 35 years to stop flying and sell his plane. Like most of us, being a pilot was an important part of what defined him. But after the long COVID winter, he found that his travel requirements had changed, and he no longer had a calendar full of face-to-face meetings scattered across the country. He started making up excuses to fly in order to stay proficient. Also, as he put it, neither the aircraft nor her pilot were spring chickens. So he made the difficult decision to retire from the left seat. “I will leave on my terms, on top of my game, healthy and fit to fly, knowing that I mastered the world of general aviation, at least to a degree I find satisfying.”
I admire this friend for his clarity of purpose, and once he reached this decision, he was at peace and optimistic about the next phase of his life.
For others, the signs may not always be that obvious. There have been many incidents where pilots pushed themselves uncomfortably close to the grey line of no return. I recently heard a story of a highly experienced pilot who took off from their home airport and soon became disoriented, so much so he needed ATC to help him return to his home airport. The incident was so disconcerting that the pilot immediately put his aircraft up for sale and made the decision to stop flying.
For others, the time to step back is being dictated by the insurance industry. I know several Meridian owners who are being forced out of aviation simply because they turned the magic age of 70. It’s an arbitrary age and certainly not a reflection of cognitive performance or pilot skill. I personally know several 80-plus pilots who are incredibly competent in and out of the cockpit, who routinely ace their recurrent training events or CFR 61.59 check.
But the fact remains: Unless you are Benjamin Button, age isn’t kind to body or mind. For the vast majority of us, self-assessment is a poor method of detecting when we are cognitively in decline. According to the Flight Safety Foundation:
- Cognitive impairment is like alcohol or drug impairment – the people affected are likely to be less aware of the condition than those around them. When a family member or friend is ready to urge a person to discontinue driving for this reason, it is usually well past the point of incapacitation.
- For many pilots, aviation is as much an avocation as it is a vocation. It is part of their sense of personal identity. The fear of losing that connection may be very strong – strong enough for people to be in denial that they may be putting themselves and others at risk.
- Many pilots are not prepared economically to either retire or change their careers. This puts strong financial pressure on them to continue to fly.
Dr. Quay Snyder, an expert on aero-medical topics including aging, says cognitive deficiencies are insidious, have a substantial negative impact on performance and are hardest to identify when a pilot is performing routine activities. One reason symptoms go unnoticed is that with practice and routine, the brain adjusts to mild to moderate cognitive impairment. However, if there is an unexpected situation or an emergency, it may become evident.
Many of us are fortunate to have a flying spouse or aircraft partner who often occupies the right seat. As unpleasant as this topic is, you should agree to discuss any signs that might indicate a degraded cognitive function. Likewise, be willing to speak up when you’re not feeling on top of your game or sense you might be getting a tad behind the airplane.
Fatigue, stress, dehydration and sickness impact our performance in the left seat regardless of age. But the bad news is that these factors are acerbated with age. Self-assessing sleep quantity and quality, nutrition, fluid intake and stress levels should be a routine part of the pre-flight – things we gave little thought about in our 20s. Setting personal minimums for sleep and health will help you make better decisions of whether to put off a flight or take along another pilot, especially if there is challenging weather. And I can’t write a column such as this without mentioning the importance of exercise, diet, maintaining a healthy weight, moderating alcohol use, and getting a yearly physical.
I know I’m more susceptible to hypoxia than my spouse and even when the cabin altitude is at 7,000 feet, as I’ve aged, I find myself less sharp at the end of a 4-hour flight. My mitigation strategy is to have portable oxygen available and use it at the top of the descent point and before reaching the IAP on the approach. It’s even in my personalized ForeFlight checklist.
A member wrote recently on the MMOPA forum: “If you ever get that small voice in your head telling you it’s time, it is preferable to do so and live to talk about it than to end up an NTSB report. If you see another making errors and you know they can do better, encourage them to rethink. That may be harder than you think. One reliable sign of an alcoholic is the denial that they are an alcoholic. One issue with another pointing out your deficiencies is the denial of such. Let’s be careful out there and be sensitive to the small inner voice that is saying ‘it’s time’ to move to the right seat.”
Yes, it sucks getting old. As pilots, we like to be winners, and giving up the left seat is akin to white-flag-waving surrender. And although I plan to be flying for many more trips around the sun, I also have a pact with my spouse that when it’s time – it’s time. Until then, let’s kick the tires and light the fires. We’ve got some flying to do!
