The Prussian
Stecknadelkopf
- Joined
- Oct 24, 2005
- Posts
- 671
GREAT RECORD. TIP-TOP HEALTH. TOO OLD.
By Jon Hilkevitch and John Schmeltzer
Tribune staff reporters
August 22, 2006
Richard Hinnenkamp, a United Airlines pilot for 37 years, recently aced the medical exam required of an airline captain every six months, bench-presses his body weight and outruns his son-in-law.
But because he turns 60 on Friday, he'll be forced to end his career at United due to a government-mandated precaution against taking a chance on his fitness.
That doesn't mean Hinnenkamp will turn in his wings. He plans to change uniforms, joining a foreign carrier as a pilot.
At a time when security concerns make it is easy to argue passengers would like to see the most experienced pilots at the controls, thousands are being forced out by what critics see as an arbitrary federal retirement rule not backed by any clear scientific data or accidents studies.
Hinnenkamp, who weighed offers from at least two carriers, is among a growing number of some of the nation's best-trained fliers joining such foreign carriers as Britain's Virgin Atlantic and Air India. Those airlines and many others are recruiting heavily in the United States in advance of a significant change in international regulations.
Starting in November, pilots up to age 65 working for foreign airlines will be allowed to command flights into the United States under an agreement the government fought to block. It was adopted this year by the International Civil Aviation Organization, which regulates international air travel and is relaxing its retirement rule to allow pilots to command an aircraft until age 65, as long as the co-pilot is no older than 59.
Despite more than 22,000 flight hours logged on aircraft ranging from warplanes over Southeast Asia to 747s doing the so-called Riesling run (a reference to the German wine) to Frankfurt, Hinnenkamp said he is about to suddenly become an unacceptable safety risk to the flying public, but only if he is at the controls of an American plane, according to FAA rules.
"The kid who replaces me on the seniority list at United will not have been born when I dropped bombs on Vietnam," the U.S. Navy veteran said.
"I am an American and I cannot land an American plane in my country," he added. "But I can change uniforms and land a 747 here in the U.S. for Air India, El Al or another foreign carrier."
Experts say relaxing the retirement age in the U.S. would save the nation's cash-strapped airlines hundreds of millions of dollars in training costs while also saving the government that much more in lost income taxes, Social Security payments and early payouts by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Board, which is taking over the failed pension plans of airlines.
The United States is one of the few countries in the world opposed to raising the retirement age of commercial pilots. The other notable exceptions are France and China, which also require pilots to step down at 60.
Eighty-three percent of the countries called for raising the retirement age in a 2003 survey conducted by the Montreal-based International Civil Aviation Organization.
U.S. aviation officials consistently have refused to reconsider the decision made in 1959 at the behest of American Airlines to force older pilots from the cockpit. It was not based on any scientific studies.
Marion Blakey, administrator or the Federal Aviation Administration, maintains the available safety data and latest medical research are insufficient for the agency to begin the steps necessary to change the age 60 rule. But Blakey said the FAA position on the issue has changed to "neutral."
"There is a lot of common sense, a lot of data showing that Americans are healthier, they are living longer," Blakey told pilots attending an air show in Oshkosh, Wis., last month.
The outcome may depend on what Congress does, she said.
Legislation is under review in Congress to increase the age limit in the United States to create a uniform worldwide standard. Similar bills have been introduced regularly since 1999.
Dr. Anthony Evans, chief of the aviation medicine section of the international aviation group, said the organization decided to increase the retirement age after a study group in 2003 determined older pilots could safely continue operating passenger planes.
"The flight safety risk of aging pilots has been reduced. People are living longer, and the ability of aviation medicine and medical science to make an assessment has improved," he said, noting incapacitation training is now mandatory.
In response to questions by a group called Airline Pilots Against Age Discrimination, FAA officials said age alone is not the best indicator of a pilot's proficiency.
"However, everyone would agree there comes a time when every pilot should stop flying," David Balloff, FAA assistant administrator for government and industry affairs, told the group.
Although no accidents have occurred during the many years foreign airlines have been allowed to enter the United States with co-pilots older than 60, more data is needed to determine if the risks increase due to the older pilots, Balloff said.
Some airlines, including El Al, Virgin Atlantic and a number of European carriers, employ pilots older than 60. But under U.S. rules they must turn over controls to the younger pilot before entering U.S. airspace. France refuses to allow flights over its territory by those carriers.
Younger pilots eager to move into the captain's seat, and obtain the higher pay, say the current retirement age is the way things should remain.
They say the generation of pilots soon to retire was helped by the age-60 rule when their careers advanced. These same older pilots want the retirement age extended so they can benefit again, say the younger pilots.
"It's not about bashing 60-year-old pilots so we can benefit," said Ben Armen, 36, a first officer who has been flying 11 years for a major U.S. airline after starting with a regional commuter carrier. "But the group seeking to raise the age limit overnight is trying to make a political change to prolong their earning capabilities."
Keeping the pilot retirement age is supported by the Air Line Pilots Association, the nation's largest pilots union.
Supporters of raising the retirement limit say the pilots group is courting entry-level pilots working for regional airlines, warning that the FAA might impose additional training and qualification standards on all pilots. Supporters also say that the union is ignoring the fact that airlines might not even be around without the financial sacrifices senior pilots have made.
E. Allan Englehardt, a 37-year United veteran, said the existing rule is "gross age discrimination" and would force him to become a burden on society.
"My big problem if I am forced to retire on Jan. 29 is how am I going to support my wife and 15-year-old son," said Englehardt of Lake Bluff. "I want to send my son to college and help him reach his goals in life. Isn't that what every parent wants?"
Bill Siegert, a Boeing 737 captain with Southwest Airlines, which is fighting the government's refusal to raise the retirement age, said the deciding factor comes down to who is best served by the FAA's intransigence.
In addition to Southwest and its pilots union, JetBlue Airways and ATA Airlines also support raising the retirement age. Major carriers are on the sidelines.
"Our flying public deserves the best pilot, the most experienced and the most qualified," said Siegert, who turns 58 this year. "The age-60 rule does cause a brain drain."
Siegert said he and his wife, Gayle, are prepared to pack up and move overseas from their home in Kane County if that is what it takes for him to continue flying.
Without a change in the age rule, many pilots turning 60 will wait for Social Security to kick in and live on retirement checks substantially smaller than what they planned for because their financially struggling airlines reduced or terminated pilot pensions.
Other veteran pilots will begin second careers as expatriate Americans flying under foreign flags.
Pilots like Hinnenkamp say they anticipated a comfortable retirement and saw no need to keep flying beyond age 60 until they lost most of their pension and all of their medical and dental benefits in retirement.
"Now I will have to live on less than one quarter of what I planned to live on," said Hinnenkamp, who lives with his wife in Morgan Hill, Calif., about an hour's drive from San Francisco International Airport, his base for United.
He worries about the future.
"My father died at age 96, and his older brother is now 102," Hinnenkamp said. "I may be retired longer than I flew."
----------
[email protected]
[email protected]
By Jon Hilkevitch and John Schmeltzer
Tribune staff reporters
August 22, 2006
Richard Hinnenkamp, a United Airlines pilot for 37 years, recently aced the medical exam required of an airline captain every six months, bench-presses his body weight and outruns his son-in-law.
But because he turns 60 on Friday, he'll be forced to end his career at United due to a government-mandated precaution against taking a chance on his fitness.
That doesn't mean Hinnenkamp will turn in his wings. He plans to change uniforms, joining a foreign carrier as a pilot.
At a time when security concerns make it is easy to argue passengers would like to see the most experienced pilots at the controls, thousands are being forced out by what critics see as an arbitrary federal retirement rule not backed by any clear scientific data or accidents studies.
Hinnenkamp, who weighed offers from at least two carriers, is among a growing number of some of the nation's best-trained fliers joining such foreign carriers as Britain's Virgin Atlantic and Air India. Those airlines and many others are recruiting heavily in the United States in advance of a significant change in international regulations.
Starting in November, pilots up to age 65 working for foreign airlines will be allowed to command flights into the United States under an agreement the government fought to block. It was adopted this year by the International Civil Aviation Organization, which regulates international air travel and is relaxing its retirement rule to allow pilots to command an aircraft until age 65, as long as the co-pilot is no older than 59.
Despite more than 22,000 flight hours logged on aircraft ranging from warplanes over Southeast Asia to 747s doing the so-called Riesling run (a reference to the German wine) to Frankfurt, Hinnenkamp said he is about to suddenly become an unacceptable safety risk to the flying public, but only if he is at the controls of an American plane, according to FAA rules.
"The kid who replaces me on the seniority list at United will not have been born when I dropped bombs on Vietnam," the U.S. Navy veteran said.
"I am an American and I cannot land an American plane in my country," he added. "But I can change uniforms and land a 747 here in the U.S. for Air India, El Al or another foreign carrier."
Experts say relaxing the retirement age in the U.S. would save the nation's cash-strapped airlines hundreds of millions of dollars in training costs while also saving the government that much more in lost income taxes, Social Security payments and early payouts by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Board, which is taking over the failed pension plans of airlines.
The United States is one of the few countries in the world opposed to raising the retirement age of commercial pilots. The other notable exceptions are France and China, which also require pilots to step down at 60.
Eighty-three percent of the countries called for raising the retirement age in a 2003 survey conducted by the Montreal-based International Civil Aviation Organization.
U.S. aviation officials consistently have refused to reconsider the decision made in 1959 at the behest of American Airlines to force older pilots from the cockpit. It was not based on any scientific studies.
Marion Blakey, administrator or the Federal Aviation Administration, maintains the available safety data and latest medical research are insufficient for the agency to begin the steps necessary to change the age 60 rule. But Blakey said the FAA position on the issue has changed to "neutral."
"There is a lot of common sense, a lot of data showing that Americans are healthier, they are living longer," Blakey told pilots attending an air show in Oshkosh, Wis., last month.
The outcome may depend on what Congress does, she said.
Legislation is under review in Congress to increase the age limit in the United States to create a uniform worldwide standard. Similar bills have been introduced regularly since 1999.
Dr. Anthony Evans, chief of the aviation medicine section of the international aviation group, said the organization decided to increase the retirement age after a study group in 2003 determined older pilots could safely continue operating passenger planes.
"The flight safety risk of aging pilots has been reduced. People are living longer, and the ability of aviation medicine and medical science to make an assessment has improved," he said, noting incapacitation training is now mandatory.
In response to questions by a group called Airline Pilots Against Age Discrimination, FAA officials said age alone is not the best indicator of a pilot's proficiency.
"However, everyone would agree there comes a time when every pilot should stop flying," David Balloff, FAA assistant administrator for government and industry affairs, told the group.
Although no accidents have occurred during the many years foreign airlines have been allowed to enter the United States with co-pilots older than 60, more data is needed to determine if the risks increase due to the older pilots, Balloff said.
Some airlines, including El Al, Virgin Atlantic and a number of European carriers, employ pilots older than 60. But under U.S. rules they must turn over controls to the younger pilot before entering U.S. airspace. France refuses to allow flights over its territory by those carriers.
Younger pilots eager to move into the captain's seat, and obtain the higher pay, say the current retirement age is the way things should remain.
They say the generation of pilots soon to retire was helped by the age-60 rule when their careers advanced. These same older pilots want the retirement age extended so they can benefit again, say the younger pilots.
"It's not about bashing 60-year-old pilots so we can benefit," said Ben Armen, 36, a first officer who has been flying 11 years for a major U.S. airline after starting with a regional commuter carrier. "But the group seeking to raise the age limit overnight is trying to make a political change to prolong their earning capabilities."
Keeping the pilot retirement age is supported by the Air Line Pilots Association, the nation's largest pilots union.
Supporters of raising the retirement limit say the pilots group is courting entry-level pilots working for regional airlines, warning that the FAA might impose additional training and qualification standards on all pilots. Supporters also say that the union is ignoring the fact that airlines might not even be around without the financial sacrifices senior pilots have made.
E. Allan Englehardt, a 37-year United veteran, said the existing rule is "gross age discrimination" and would force him to become a burden on society.
"My big problem if I am forced to retire on Jan. 29 is how am I going to support my wife and 15-year-old son," said Englehardt of Lake Bluff. "I want to send my son to college and help him reach his goals in life. Isn't that what every parent wants?"
Bill Siegert, a Boeing 737 captain with Southwest Airlines, which is fighting the government's refusal to raise the retirement age, said the deciding factor comes down to who is best served by the FAA's intransigence.
In addition to Southwest and its pilots union, JetBlue Airways and ATA Airlines also support raising the retirement age. Major carriers are on the sidelines.
"Our flying public deserves the best pilot, the most experienced and the most qualified," said Siegert, who turns 58 this year. "The age-60 rule does cause a brain drain."
Siegert said he and his wife, Gayle, are prepared to pack up and move overseas from their home in Kane County if that is what it takes for him to continue flying.
Without a change in the age rule, many pilots turning 60 will wait for Social Security to kick in and live on retirement checks substantially smaller than what they planned for because their financially struggling airlines reduced or terminated pilot pensions.
Other veteran pilots will begin second careers as expatriate Americans flying under foreign flags.
Pilots like Hinnenkamp say they anticipated a comfortable retirement and saw no need to keep flying beyond age 60 until they lost most of their pension and all of their medical and dental benefits in retirement.
"Now I will have to live on less than one quarter of what I planned to live on," said Hinnenkamp, who lives with his wife in Morgan Hill, Calif., about an hour's drive from San Francisco International Airport, his base for United.
He worries about the future.
"My father died at age 96, and his older brother is now 102," Hinnenkamp said. "I may be retired longer than I flew."
----------
[email protected]
[email protected]
