I travel a good bit so I end up flying fairly frequently. Flying doesn’t scare me. I trust that the airline is doing their due diligence to make sure the people flying my plane know what they are doing and have the experience to get me from point A to point B safely. Maybe I should start questioning that more after reading this article. The combined age of a pilot and co-pilot team that flew out of London is 45 years young. 26-year-old captain Kate McWilliams and her 19-year-old co-pilot Luke Elsworth made the flight successfully, but I wonder if those passengers knew or would have cared?
I had no idea a 19 year old could be a co-pilot & a 26 year old a captain? Eeeeee, I don’t know. That seems young. I know we all have to start somewhere but I’d like to think the person flying the airplane has a little more experience than that. I mean, I want my pilot to be the combined ages of those two.
I think my kids are super capable humans, and even though I have great faith in them and their abilities, I don’t think I’d even want them co-piloting my plane. Even if they have years of experience. That pilot had been flying since she was 13 when she joined their air cadets, so she has plenty of years of experience. But I also think there’s something to be said about that wisdom comes with age thing. Although I guess we would trust her to birth and raise another human at that age, and that’s a dang important job. So maybe trusting her to pilot a plane isn’t that crazy?
What do you think? Would you freak out a bit if the combined age of your flight crew was 45? Would it not phase you at all? Let me know what you think.
Peace out,
~Mavis
Stephanie Hughes says
Growing up in the south, guys get pilots license young. Think about our air force, full of youngsters defending our freedom
Christie says
Well since the average age of a US Air Force Pilot flying a $150 million F22 Raptor is between 25-34 then her age seems about right. When you think about it – historically commercial airline pilots have been retired military pilots. So what you are used to seeing is the pilots who have already retired once. 🙂
Leslie says
Experience seems more valuable than age.
Judy Bee says
My niece at 23 was training to fly giant B2 bombers. She could have trained on jets if she had opted for that. She graduated at the top in her pilot training. I would have flown anywhere with her. She has since retired from the service. The pilot’s age isn’t a problem for me because at 26 she had plenty of time to train. However, I’m not as comfortable with a 19 year because I have no other information.
Marcia says
Yes, this here. I was in the Navy, several of my college buddies became pilots.
19? Well, yeah I’d think twice about that.
Lisa says
Especially when they say a person’s brain isn’t fully developed till 25!!!
Helen in Meridian says
In the past most of the pilots were trained in the military and then retired to work for airlines, They have a top age when they have to retire, I don’t remember what it is. Now to interject a movie I just finished 10 minutes ago on Amazon. It is called The Last Word with Shirley MacLaine and Amanda Seyfried. Sis watched it last night, to me about it and I just watched. Really great movie.
Mavis Butterfield says
65 I believe.
Brooke says
No issues from me. It all comes down to the number of hours they have flown, not age, and at least in the US there is a minimum hours requirement for commercial pilots.
Sarah B says
There is a huge shortage of pilots. And I’m quite sure they are experienced enough to pilot. But the shock factor is great!
Rebecca says
My 32 year old brother has had his pilot’s license since he was 15 – literally longer than he’s been driving and I’m sure no one would squeak at him driving them in his car. He’s a commercial airline captain and has been flying commercial flights since he was 23. No qualms here.
Claire says
Just because a person is above a certain age does not mean they are better at something or that they have more experience than someone younger than them.
Anne says
When you’re carrying live souls on the plane I think a combined age of the pilots needs to be greater. The Air Force pilots Are only responsible for their own lives in the air. It’s different when you have passengers.
Meg B. says
What????? You are so wrong. The Air Force has more transport pilots than fighter pilots (which is what I think you are referring to) and those pilots usually recent college graduates to boot.
Moreover, those fighter pilots are so responsible for lives. Those lives just aren’t passengers in their planes.
Mavis is trying to be provocative in this post. I don’t think she knows what she is talki g about either.
Sincerely,
A retired Air Force Pilot’s Wife.
Nancy says
I don’t have much of a problem with the 26 year old, but the 19 year old causes me concern and this comes from one whose family had their own planes and made solo flights on their 16th birthday- the earliest they could with a single engine plane.
Kimmy says
The workers at my son’s daycare are mostly younger than 26, and I trust them with his life every day. So I’d be OK with a plane. I think age is just a number.
Linda Sand says
The Army taught my husband to fly helicopters at the age of 19 then sent him to a war zone to do that. Think they’d trust that expensive equipment to one not qualified? Hours of training are more important than age. I’d rather have a 19 year old who has been practicing hours every day than a 45 year old that just finished flight school with the minimum number of hours required.
Sue R. says
Just finished reading “Highest Duty” by pilot Captain “Sully” Sullenberger of the Hudson River airline incident–a great book and you’ll get lots of insight about pilots and the airline industry. Worth reading!
Catherine says
I’ve flown with a 16 year old pilot. Way less scary than a 16 year old driver… This isn’t him, but it was at TAM. 🙂
http://abc7.com/society/compton-teen-becomes-youngest-african-american-to-fly-over-us/1431630/
Preppy Pink Crocodile says
It’s funny to me that I had a very different reaction to this story. Immediately when I saw that the pilot was both 26 and a female, I thought, HOW AWESOME! In general though, pilots are required to complete X number of hours before they can attain that title. And you can start flight training long before you can drive a car. I trust that age {and gender and race and all the other junk that people say matters but good grief just doesn’t} isn’t a factor in them doing their jobs.
Off topic but if you’ve seen it you’ll get the leap…has anyone seen Come From Away on Broadway? This conversation reminds me of Beverely’s story in the show. Sort of. Anyway, great show, go see it, even if it’s rather unrelated to the topic.
Diana says
I had the exact same reaction! I was immensely impressed and proud of that woman who was able to become a commercial pilot at 26. That takes some hard work and dedication!
Tammy says
I don’t know a lot about pilots and the requirements, but I would assume that airlines have a lot of requirements in place for their pilots, so if they’ve gotten in all their training and are taking their jobs seriously, then I wouldn’t have a problem with it–in fact, I think it’s pretty neat! I’d venture to say that a 26-year old pilot *might* be healthier and more alert than someone twice that age.
Jennifer says
Two comments… Assuming a 30-something or 40-something has more experience than a 20-something is a risk. Not sure if it’s a form of ageism but something along those lines–giving MORE credit to someone due to their age, not necessarily due to their experience.
Also, I wish, Miss Mavis, you wouldn’t post these provocative posts and ask for input. Doesn’t seem in any way in keeping with even a general version of the theme of your blog. And I can’t think of any reason for you to post things like this except to stir the pot with your readers. It just doesn’t seem useful or informative or entertaining. (I don’t mean to sound harsh. I just find myself skipping your posts whenever they are like this. Just sharing feedback.)
Mavis Butterfield says
This was not meant to be a “provocative article.” I’ve been pulling stories from the headlines {and asking for readers opinions on them} for years.
All things being equal, if I had a choice between the captain of my flight {a 26 year old or a 40 something pilot who began training at the same age} I’d choose the 40 year old. Why? Because he has more flight experience. More years in the cockpit. Plain and simple.
Jennifer says
That’s the assumption for sure. But a 40yo pilot might only have 5 years of experience. You won’t know. I don’t deny that I make the same assumptions as everyone else, for sure. Just making an academic point.
Mavis, agreed–I know you’ve been posting articles for conversation for years. That’s great. Just saying that sometimes the readers’ comments/conversations get heated and ugly, and that I think that could be predicted based on the topic alone. I would just want to promote a sense of cohesion among my readers and leave certain topics to websites where controversy or heated conversation is expected. I mean no offense. And I don’t really think this topic was particularly provocative. Just reminded me others that have been more so.
Mavis Butterfield says
Just out of curiosity, what “provocative” posts are you referring to?
Lisa says
You didn’t skip this one?!?!
Lynn says
It depends on the individual. I flew my father’s Cessna (with my father) 300 miles over the Appalachians when I was only 16 y.o. You get quite a bit of updraft over the Appalachians and yet I was only 1/4 mile (in the air that is nothing) off-course, so basically I was right on target with my navigation. I know nothing about the large airliners, but I believe they pretty much fly themselves these days?
With that said, I feel the main pilot should be a seasoned pilot. A 45-year-old pilot may not be seasoned in a given individual, but a 30-year-old pilot may have more years of solid experience under the belt; it just depends on each individual situation. I would feel uncomfortable for both pilots to be that young, though, even with autopilot.
Crystal says
We would let them fly planes into combat, transport troops, and even use those planes to cause deaths in war (whether by bombing, or other ways). So if you don’t trust them to fly an airliner commercially, you may want to rethink whether allowing them in the Air Force or Navy (fun fact, the largest air force in the world is our Air Force, the second largest is our Navy) is okay as well.
Noelle says
As a Commercial Pilot AND Air Traffic Controller I feel this is a whole bunch of age judgement for no reason. By the time I was 30 I had wrapped up my career as a Commercial Pilot and was hired by the FAA and certified as an air traffic controller, a career that lets me be at home at night with my babies. Side note, I’ve likely controlled your flight as so have my 19 year old co workers. I’ve gone through all the training and experience required for both and I can guarantee you that the quality of experience matters and age does not. If a 19 year old is in the cockpit it’s because that kid us highly capable and worked his but off to get there. There are 40 year olds who dont belong at the flight controls. You’d also be interested to know this is more common than not, especially amongst commuter/express/shuttle/code share carriers (That’s the little jets or props that are abundant on the east coast). After flight school a pilot usually does some time-building as a flight instructor or package carrier. After that most pilots work for commuters, like the one mentioned in this article. Finding a 25/20 pair is more common than not. Once you have spent 5 years or so at a commuter you usually have enough time to work for a major airline. I’d be more worried about the 40 year old in the cockpit at the commuter, like why hasn’t this guy been hired by a major airline. But then again, he could have changed careers midstream like me, so really there is no room to judge. The FAA and the airlines work very hard to make sure pilots (and controllers 😉 are properly trained whatever their age.
Stacey says
While it is reasonable to take age into account, it is only one of the factors. A 19-year-old may be a better pilot than an older person. We hear a lot about age discrimination when it comes to “older” people in the workplace, but not a lot of attention is given to discrimination toward younger people. I’ve worked with some amazing teenagers that were coaches working at a gym. They were responsible for teaching children gymnastics tricks that could be quite dangerous, and they did their jobs very well. They even taught me some things, and I trusted them to spot me. My point is that the pilot’s skills are more important than their ages.
Mrs. M says
I realize that flying a plane with souls on board is not equivalent to playing an XBox game, but the younger generation probably has more hand-eye coordination and experience with a “controller” than a 45 year old.
The younger (and women) pilots are probably very aware of the age (gender) discrimination and may work harder to be good at their job. I’d trust both pilots! The woman and the 19 yo!
BTW, by the time I was 26, I had two children… also a big commitment with a lot of responsibility. Those children are 20 and 17 now and doing well. So, I think a 26 year old is very capable.
Mrs. M says
PS. How old is your babysitter? Or how old were you when you began to babysit for others? (Babysitters are responsible for souls, too.) Statistically, babysitters probably handle more life and death emergency situations than a pilot.
PPS. I enjoy Mavis’ posts that ask for reader’s opinions! I like reading the varying train of thoughts. I don’t consider it a “provocative post.” It’s just feedback.
Mavis Butterfield says
I like reading the varying train of thoughts too. That’s why I ask. 🙂