Is 60 "TOO OLD" TO FLY?

  How old are you? If you are past 60, you probably don't feel old. You are still healthy and vital, probably still working, and contributing to society. It has taken you those sixty years to acquire the knowledge and experience to do what you do so well.

  Well, you have just been judged to be "too old". An arbitrary age limit has just been placed on your profession. If you are a surgeon, you can no longer perform surgery. If you are a real estate agent, you must cease selling homes. Are you a teacher? Well, not any longer!

  Sounds absurd, doesn't it?

  Well, that's what is happening to commercial pilots now. Men and women, most of whom cut their teeth flying military aircraft, are being set out to pasture at the age of sixty. When pilots gather, the criteria by which they judge each other is how many hours they have.

  "Oh, I have thirty-five thousand hours in the 747", or the L10-11, or whatever. Pilots are a special breed. I know; I have known quite a few. They are serious, dedicated professionals who hold hundreds of lives in their hands every day. What is happening to them now is a travesty of justice, and a short-sighted idiocy.

  Would you rather fly with a pilot of 35 years and 5000 hours, or one of sixty-one with 50,000 hours under his/her belt? Personally, I believe that there is no substitute for real-world experience, especially when it involves flying a modern commercial aircraft.

  Below is a link to a petition to change this ruling. We urge you to sign it, and pass it on to everyone you know. Just copy and paste the link into your browser.

http://www.petitiononline.com/noto60/petition.html