Retirement Takes Toll In Both Cockpit And Control Tower

If aviation consultants like Stuart Klaskin are to be believed, aviation will stumble right out of the economic bad times and right into a shortage of both pilots and controllers.

"I wouldn't go so far as to say it's going to be dangerous," the Miami consultant told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. "But it's one of these situations that needs to be understood now, and acted upon now."

ANN has already reported extensively on the looming shortage of controllers. By 2015, 73-percent of the nation's 14,934 controllers now in towers will be eligible to retire. At the same time, about 25,000 pilots will hit the 60-year old silk while airlines will be trying to hire an additional 50,000. So say the consultants.

How to deal with the pending shortages? Delay, delay delay.

"An argument can be made that these people are being forced to retire when they're at the peak of their experience," Klaskin told the South Florida paper. Right now, the mandatory retirement age for controllers is 56. Pilots have to leave the cockpit at 60.

The FAA says it's ramping up to hire another 12,000 controllers over the next ten years. But the demand for pilots is expanding so fast that the Sun-Sentinel reports some airlines are actually relaxing their hiring standards to fill both left- and right-seats.

"The inexperienced pilot, whoever he may be, is more accident prone than the experienced pilot," said aviation safety consultant Robert Breiling.

Well, hold on there. Most airlines will tell you that even though the number of flight hours required to sit in the right seat has dropped to 1,000 in some cases, those less-experienced pilots are paired with much more experienced captains. But Breiling, a former Pan Am pilot, says turnover at some of the regional carriers is so high that even the greenest of first officers stands a good chance of becoming pilot-in-command within two years -- or less.

Pshaw, says Kit Darby, who is a frequent contributor to ANN on subjects of pilot hiring. "You may hire on as a co-pilot and a year or two later, you're a captain," he told the Sun-Sentinel, speaking specifically about regional carriers. "Once pilots are in their jobs, working as professionals, you won't see a problem with safety," he said. "The system prevents any low time pilots from being in charge."

Still, nobody's arguing with the numbers and the plain truth seems to be, the new pilots and the new controllers are going to have to come from somewhere. So... where?

FMI: www.jet-jobs.com