Senator Santorum's response to S. 65

[luckytohaveajob]

Congressman Jim Gibbons in serious trouble

If Congressman R-Nev. Jim Gibbons gets prosecuted on criminal charges age 60 is in serious jeopardy. H.65 is not out of the House of Rep. Transportation committee yet and with the author of H.65 facing charges this could all come to a screeching halt.

Looking forward to the DA pressing charges!!!!!!!!

http://www.kvbc.com/Global/story.asp?S=5610655&nav=15MV

 

[Andy]

I do not disagree with what you are saying Falcon, however the senator is correct. This rule (age 60) came about not thru any scientific studies, but
literally from an agreement between the FAA and the head of an airline back in those days....maybe AA....Kind of like a deal so to speak......

If anyone has the full details of how age 60 came about that would be great....

Contrary to the urban legend that the age 60 rule was some backroom deal between Quesada and CR Smith, the committee formed by the FAA did actually look at scientific studies along with other data prior to recommending the age 60 rule.
Here's a link that mentions the origins of the FAA, why it was formed, and Quesada's safety mandate from Eisenhower: http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Government_Role/FAA_History/POL8.htm

If you dig a bit deeper, you'll find that Quesada took a number of steps to improve aviation safety. One aspect of safety that was address was the maximum pilot age. CR Smith did provide some data to the FAA, but I suspect that many other airline execs also provided information.
One of the people that Quesada asked to be a committee member was Rev. Hesburgh, the president of Notre Dame. In a letter to CR Smith, Rev. Hesburgh said that he thought that the maximum pilot age should be 50 due to safety concerns. Quesada responded that there would be no predetermined maximum retirement age for pilots. I'm not sure if Hesburgh sat on the committee or not; there were several distinguished medical doctors on the committee. They recommended a maximum age to transition to jet aircraft of 55 and a maximum pilot age of 60.

It will take you quite a while to find references to all of this, but they are out there on the internet.
As for current scientific studies, the CAMI reports show a definite U shaped curve where the accident rate per 100,000 hours flown starts to rise at the age of 55.


I find it interesting that many letters from Senators state that the rule was made without any examination of scientific studies. That's a bunch of BS.

 

[Andy]

If Congressman R-Nev. Jim Gibbons gets prosecuted on criminal charges age 60 is in serious jeopardy. H.65 is not out of the House of Rep. Transportation committee yet and with the author of H.65 facing charges this could all come to a screeching halt.

Gibbons is running for governor of Nevada; he is not running for reelection in the House.
The House shut down HR 65 by never allowing it to leave subcommittee; it has been there since the day after Gibbons introduced the bill back in Jan or Feb '05.

 

[luckytohaveajob]

Gibbons is the drive behind age 60 in House

Gibbons is leading the entire drive regarding age 60 in the Congress.

He is the reason the Senate took up the cause with Ted Stevens.

I said H.65 was not out of committee and it is Gibbons that has given the entire issue traction.

 

[Andy]

Lucky, you're correct. However, I wouldn't be surprised to see someone else in the House pick up Gibbons' mantle. We'll have to see who in the 110th Congress decides to make this a 'cause'.

 

[Trout]

Lucky, you're correct. However, I wouldn't be surprised to see someone else in the House pick up Gibbons' mantle. We'll have to see who in the 110th Congress decides to make this a 'cause'.

Hopefully they'll work a few more days than 109th.

 

[Andy]

Hopefully they'll work a few more days than 109th.

LOL! Ain't that the truth?

 

[CitationLover]

since santorum LOVES scientific evidence please ask him why they don't decrease the duty days for airline pilots? NASA has some wonderful studies on these subjects.

 

[lostplnetairman]

I emailed Senator Santorum to express my opposition to S. 65. The following is his response.

This has always been his position. It's not pre-election posturing.

I have to say that, as someone who regularly participates in professional lobbying in DC, Specter never grants an interview while Santorum always does. In fact he got a key piece of the immigration bill changed as a direct result of that when we pointed out that the Senate legislation required employers to check the credentials of a potential employee while the IRCA (the law that makes you complete an I-9 with a proof of ID and a proof of the right to work in the US) prohibits that! I hope you all understand that most legislation is written by 22 year olds who don't know what they are talking about!

My vote will probably be decided in the booth.

HRDiva

 

[Captain Overs]

Only one more week of Rick "Man on dog" Santorum!!