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This article focused on how aging and expertise influence pilot performance on flight simulator tests conducted over a 3-year period.
The authors categorized 118 pilots according to level of expertise (into 3 levels) and age (range, 40–69, divided into 3 categories); all completed the same flight-simulation tests once a year for 3 years. The simulation time was long (75 minutes in the morning and 75 minutes in the afternoon), and pilots had to obey communications from air traffic control, land in difficult conditions, and maintain level flight in difficult conditions. They were also confronted with emergencies.
Pilots in the oldest age range did worse on the baseline test than did younger pilots but showed less decline in performance over tim…