An Analytical Study of the Effects of Age and Experience on Flight Safety

The purpose of this study was to determine whether there are any significant decreases in the safety and effectiveness of pilots by age 60. The data for this study came from records of general aviation accidents (i.e., for private pilots, commercial pilots, and air transport pilots), and airline accidents (Part 121). These accident data were acquired from many specialized aviation data banks; these include: NTSB, AOPA, FAA, and the COMSIS Research Corporation. The data were organized into groups according to the ages of the pilots-in-command responsible for the accidents. Groupings progress in five-year increments starting at 20-24, and ending with 55-59. The data were analyzed in terms of both accidents per 1,000 pilots and accidents per 100,000 annual hours flown. The results indicate that age and experience both affect safety. The magnitude of these effects and their implications on flight safety are discussed

Automated Corporate Cockpits: Some Observations

Automated airline cockpit systems are very helpful at times, but they can induce errors and other problems when change is required by the operational demands. If this holds in the constrained airline operating environment, it would appear that corporate aviation - with its demand for extreme flexibility - would magnify these problems. This study is the first attempt to examine the pilot-automation interaction in the corporate aviation environment. Survey data from 430 corporate pilots and observations from over 60 actual corporate missions are discussed