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« Power Up Friday | Main | Monkhouse Monday »

January 19, 2009 |Permalink |Comments (2)

Too Old to Ditch a Plane?


Here is a neat description of ageism offered up by Americablog...


In a story that is already extraordinary in every way, what it especially impressive is pilot Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger III and his age. How often does the corporate world throw aside workers who are over 50? In France roughly 55% of those 55 and above are unemployed. My own father was forced into early retirement (at 59) and many friends and family tell me similar stories. Obviously there is an age when the abilities to think quickly start to decline, but the entire US Air team was well under such an age.

This amazing story shows that just because someone is over 55 or even over 50 doesn't mean that they're as useless as the corporate world thinks. It was precisely because of the crews age and experience that the plane made a successful (crash) landing and everyone survived. The co-pilot is 49 (nearing that "dangerous" age for employment) and the flight crew also had decades of experience. Could it be that the corporate world is wrong? Gasp! Maybe there's a lot more talent out there that could be providing even mini miracles or just making business run well but aren't given the chance. What a pity for all of us.


We are leaving for DC in a few hours...

Comments ( 2)

As the spouse of an airline pilot I couldn't agree with you more. My husband says that statistically there was never any real basis for the old FAA regulation requiring pilots to retire at 55. Just in the last year that was pushed back by the FAA to age 60. Most of the rest of the world had already gone to the "age 60 rule". Statistics show that generally as age increases airline pilots have fewer incidents and accidents. Another key to the successful ditching of flight 1549 is the fact that the captain has had glider experience. Although we still don't know who actually performed the landing. It very well could have been the first officer at the controls as it may have been his "leg". Many airlines encourage captains to give the flight controls to first officers when dealing with emergencies. First and foremost the captain is a manager and it is very difficult to manage and assess a situation if you are trying to run checklists, talk on the radio, make announcements to the passengers, and fly the airplane. It will be interesting to see what the crew has to say when they are released to the media.

I agree... let's see what the crew will have to say.

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