The FAA is considering raising the retirement age for commercial pilots from 60 to 65 in the light of recent studies that show that, at least in piloting aircraft, experience may offset the impact of aging.

A study of 118 non-commercial pilots aged 40 to 69 was conducted annually for three years. Although initially the younger pilots performed better, over time the older pilots showed less decline in scores than did younger pilots and over time their traffic avoidance performances improved more than that of younger pilots.

These findings show the advantageous effect of prior experience and specialized expertise on older adults’ skilled cognitive performances,” said study author Joy L. Taylor, PhD, with the Stanford/VA Aging Clinical Research Center in Palo Alto, California. “Our discovery has broader implications beyond aviation to the general issue of aging in the workplace and the objective assessment of competency in older workers.”

The study was published in the February 27, 2007 issue of the journal Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.