by Dean Zakos
© Copyright 2023.  All Rights Reserved!
(Excerpted from Laughing with the Wind)
Published in Midwest Flyer Magazine December 2023 Digital Issue

“It is time I stepped aside for a less experienced and less able man.”
– Scott Elledge

Scenario:
You are alone about 10 miles out from your intended destination. It is a non-towered airport you have visited hundreds of times. You need to tune-in the AWOS and CTAF frequencies and announce your position and intentions. But you can’t. You can’t because, at that moment, you can’t remember the airport name and where you are going.

You had a gear up landing a year ago. You told everyone at the time that it was due to a “distraction.” You know that wasn’t true. You thought you had run your GUMP check, but you simply forgot to put the gear down. You are worried it will happen again.

The last time you flew your friend’s J-3 Cub, you lost control of the landing and almost ground-looped. Quartering headwind of seven knots gusting to eleven. You used to be able to land the Cub in stronger crosswinds in your sleep.

There comes a time in every pilot’s life when he or she will no longer be an active pilot. That time is not necessarily age-based, but it is skills-based. Sometimes the pilot knows when it is time, sometimes not. Often, other pilot/friends recognize signs of skills deterioration before the pilot does.

Not only is this subject difficult to deal with, but it is also difficult to talk about.

No one who truly loves flying ever wants to stop. However, time and infirmities catch up with us all. To remain safe, as pilots we need to ask ourselves some very hard questions – and we may not like the answers. If we have a friend who is a pilot and who is getting older or has experienced deteriorating physical or mental skills, we need to do the right thing and be honest in our evaluation and advice.

There is scant information available to assist us. Over the years, at different airports where I have based, I have witnessed three common events that dictate when a pilot stops flying.

The first is having an incident or accident. It can be a clear signal to cease flying, but it is a cruel and impersonal warning that often arrives too late.

The second is losing a medical. This may be an easier situation to deal with, as the FAA has intervened officially to end the pilot’s flying. Often, the decision is accepted graciously by the pilot and that is the end of it.

The third event, however, is subtle and pernicious. There are GA pilots who can check the right boxes on the forms and pass a third class medical, or who are flying under BasicMed or Light Sport, and who are not subject to continuous medical scrutiny. Nevertheless, they know they are beginning to struggle, or their pilot/friends recognize they are starting to decline. Should these pilots stop flying? What is the right decision?

14 CFR Part 61.53 states that if a pilot “knows or has reason to know of any medical condition that would make the person unable to operate the aircraft in a safe manner,” it would be a violation to do so. Hence, any honest decision to act as PIC is subject to the pilot’s responsibility to continuously assess his/her physical and mental condition. This is the minimum standard for compliance. Simply put, if a pilot does not think he or she can fly safely, he or she cannot and should not fly.

This is an “honor” system. If, as pilots, we fail to comply, we are failing the system, our fellow pilots, and ourselves.

How do you evaluate and resolve questions of fitness to fly and when to walk away? Here are my thoughts:

First. Recognition. Every pilot has a “bad day” now and then – a day when he or she is competent but just isn’t sharp. That may not be evidence of a serious problem. Sub-par performance can be due to lack of currency or proficiency, fatigue, or distractions.

However, if a pilot has strings of bad days, with continuous, significant lapses in skills, inability to follow standard procedures, or substantial errors in judgment, it may represent a clear signal that an assessment may be in order.

Some loss of physical senses or skills deterioration over time is to be expected. Vision changes and hearing impairments are common. Muscle strength, coordination, and reflexes eventually erode. Less apparent signs are significantly slower response times, confusion, or failing to recall procedures or information.

What distinguishes a rare “bad day” from real skills deterioration? The answer: if you, or your pilot/friends, notice dangerous errors or repeated patterns or signs of problems.

Also, if you are experiencing concerns about your flying, you may be consciously (or unconsciously) “pulling back” from some aspects of flying, even though you still desire to fly. You may no longer keep up on new flying regulations, stop attending safety seminars, limit your flying to trips “around the patch,” or stay within a short flying radius of your home airport. You may start to fear your next flight review – or even your next flight. Your annual flying hours may have diminished substantially compared with past years.

Second. Seeking Opinions. If your flying has grown more erratic or less careful, or if your ability to retain critical information is slipping, or your hours and proficiency are declining, chances are your pilot friends have noticed it too. You, or they, may hesitate to bring the matter up as there is a natural tendency to want to avoid any discussion because of where it may lead. It is a discussion, however, that needs to take place.

If you are the pilot experiencing problems, you should seek out a trusted pilot friend to talk with. If you are the pilot friend, and become aware of issues, you need to seek out the struggling pilot. Plan on having a pre-arranged, confidential, and interruption-free discussion. As the pilot friend, there is no need to initiate the conversation with a dire warning like “You have to quit flying right now. You’re going to kill yourself or someone else!” That is neither necessary nor helpful. Keep in mind that if the pilot friend has noticed problems, it is likely the struggling pilot has as well.

You may want to start the discussion with an observation. For example, “I noticed you have been having trouble with your landings. How do you think your flying is going?” Another open-ended question could be: “Are you finding it more challenging to fly?” If you are the struggling pilot, you could initiate the conversation by expressing similar observations about your own flying. The key is to allow an expression of concerns in a back-and-forth, non-judgmental style of discussion.

Psychologists use a technique known as “reflective listening.” This technique involves first listening, and then reflecting back what you are hearing. By rephrasing what you are hearing, it signals understanding, provides encouragement, and may allow the struggling pilot to gain a better perspective on his or her flying and potential problems. Either the struggling pilot or the pilot/friend eventually needs to ask the question “What should be done?”

Third. Assessment. If you have recognized patterns or signs of problems in your flying, or a pilot friend has discussed seeing signs of problems in your flying, it is time to do two things immediately: (1) ground yourself and make the decision to stop flying (at least temporarily); and (2) make an appointment for an assessment.
You may want to arrange for a flight with a capable CFI you trust and who knows your flying. Explain the circumstances and ask for a truthful evaluation. Allow the CFI’s opinion to be determinative.

You should also schedule an appointment with an AME or your treating physician if you are experiencing serious physical or mental issues. Afterall, these issues may affect not only your flying, but your overall health. If you require treatment for a serious medical condition, that takes precedence over your flying.

With an AME or your treating physician, it is imperative to be open and truthful with your answers. This is not the time to play games or be evasive. Answer questions honestly and list all medications you take and symptoms you experience. A physician may be able to determine if medications currently prescribed for you, or over-the-counter drugs you are using, have side-effects that are causing problems. There may be alternatives.

Fourth. Making the decision. After evaluation, a CFI may believe you are still a safe pilot (within limitations) but, for example, it may be time to step down from the high-performance or complex aircraft you are currently flying, or time to take on less-challenging conditions when you fly. If the CFI determines you should not fly as PIC at all, in any aircraft, then you will need to comply with his or her opinion.

After consulting with an AME or your treating physician, a physical examination, tests, or use of necessary prescribed medications may confirm that you are experiencing, and will continue to experience, issues that may end your flying. As difficult as that may be, you will need to accept it.

Ideally, based on your own evaluation of your flying, you can recognize when it is time voluntarily to stop acting as PIC and walk away on your own terms.

When I flew out of Batten Field (KRAC) in Racine, Wisconsin, there was a pilot a few doors down from my T-hangar who owned a gorgeous black-over-red Beechcraft Staggerwing. I think he told me it was serial number 003 off the line in Wichita. He was in his mid-to-late 70s when I knew him. He was flying the Staggerwing on an irregular basis. He had been a pilot for many years and he and his family were well known on the airport and within aviation circles in the area.

One day, while chatting with the line guy at the FBO, I learned that the pilot had ground-looped his Staggerwing a few days earlier while landing in benign conditions. The pilot was unhurt, but the aircraft’s wingtips and landing gear were damaged. The line guy said that, while waiting with the pilot for assistance on the runway, the pilot told him that he was putting the aircraft up for sale immediately and he would stop flying. The Staggerwing pilot was good at his word. That is exactly what he did. I admired him for making the decision, as I knew how much he loved the Staggerwing, and loved flying.

Richard Collins, former Flying magazine editor, 20,000-hour pilot, and author, wrote in his book, “The Next Hour,” about his father’s last time in the left seat. He explained that his father (75 years old and an accomplished editor, pilot, and writer in his own right) completed a flight, exited the runway onto the taxiway and then mistakenly retracted the landing gear while taxing. Collins candidly admitted he did not want his own “last flight” to end like his father’s. Instead, he made the decision, when he began to recognize that his skills and proficiency were leaving him, that his last flight would be a good one.

How did he know it was time? He thought hours flown, and the decrease in hours flown over time, was a fair measure. In his prime, he flew 500 hours or more a year. As he grew older, the hours decreased each year. When he was flying only a small fraction of the annual hours he once flew, he realized that he no longer retained the same skills, proficiency, and weather knowledge that he once had. Collins flew his last flight as PIC in a Columbia 400 departing from and returning to Batavia, Ohio, in 2008. He walked away with a valid third class medical in his wallet. He said it was a “well-flown trip.”

There will come a time when many pilots will face their own version of the same decision. If you asked the Staggerwing pilot or Richard Collins’ father, I suspect each would have admitted he waited at least one flight too long. When my time comes, I hope I can see things clearly and objectively, get the timing right, and make the voluntary decision to step back on my own after one last well-flown trip.

Fifth. Mitigation Strategies. Because a pilot is experiencing some problems, it does not mean that he or she can no longer fly at all – if still medically cleared to fly. For example, if it is a night vision problem, it may be possible to limit flying to day VFR or, if a minor reaction time issue, it may be possible to establish more restrictive personal minimums regarding crosswinds and runways. If the pilot operates a high-performance or complex airplane, it may be possible to transition to a slower, easier-to-fly aircraft. Of course, these are not permanent solutions, but only temporary ones that may allow a few more months or years in the left seat, depending on circumstances.

If you determine on your own, or if it is determined for you, that you can no longer act as PIC, it does not need to be an end to your flying. You have two options: (1) If you want to sit in the pilot seat, do not fly without a qualified, certificated, and rated in category and class, safety pilot who acts as PIC; or (2) you may still enjoy flying as much (if not more) from the right seat (non-PIC) or as a passenger. It certainly is not the same as feeling the yoke or stick in your hand and the rudder pedals under your feet, but the views out of the cockpit windows are still spectacular and the sensations of pitch, bank, and yaw remain the same.

No longer active pilots should continue to be included in flying activities. If you know of a pilot who has lost a medical, or who has voluntarily stopped flying as PIC, offer that pilot an empty seat in the airplane you fly when you can. I know it will be appreciated. Make it a habit to tell the pilot when the next flying seminar is, take the time to converse with him or her about flying, or just share the news about fellow pilots and what is going on at the airport.

You can also support him or her in re-channeling flying interests to things that may be suitable substitutes, such as assisting in building or restoring an aircraft, taking a more active role in EAA Chapter or airport activities, or using the pilot’s knowledge and experience to make a difference in someone else’s life who may harbor a desire to fly or to obtain additional ratings.

Of course, there may be some pilots who, when they can no longer log PIC time, simply choose to walk away from aviation entirely. If so, respect that pilot’s wishes. I have known a few pilots like that. It is a personal decision; each pilot must decide.

I have many good memories of my time in the air. I hope (and pray) that I will continue to have the means, opportunity, and ability to make many more. Even so, we all must recognize that our flying is only partially within our own control. It has always been that way. As we grow older, we can begin to see the hard reality of that much more clearly. None of us can know what the future will bring and how many more hours each of us will experience and record as pilot-in-command.

Gently wheeling among rising cumulus tinged with the late afternoon’s grays, golds, and pinks; breaking out on top into the morning sunlight after a climb through wet, featureless clag; exploring an undisturbed valley surrounded by jagged, snow-dusted ridges; sailing serenely above a blanket of stratus such a brilliant white you need sunglasses; watching the cold moon through high, thin clouds while sitting in the dim glow of a night cockpit; or laughing and sharing stories in cruise on a homeward heading; these are just some of the kinds of memories we have made, and may, if we are fortunate, continue to make.

We will always have good memories of our time as pilots to recall and to share. Those memories should remain long after we shut down the engine and turn off the master switches for the last time. However, if we are candid with ourselves, we always knew our hours in the air were only instants in time – just fleeting moments – to be enjoyed, and that our ability to continue to make memories as pilots would, eventually and inescapably, come to an end. We cannot change that.

Fly so long as you are able, but no longer. Make good memories.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Dean Zakos (Private Pilot ASEL, Instrument) of Madison, Wisconsin, is the author of “Laughing with the Wind, Practical Advice and Personal Stories from a General Aviation Pilot.” Mr. Zakos has also written numerous short stories and flying articles for Midwest Flyer Magazine and other aviation publications.

DISCLAIMER: Mr. Zakos’ articles involve creative writing, and therefore the information presented may be fictional in nature, and should not be used for flight, or misconstrued as instructional material. Readers are urged to always consult with their personal flight instructor and others about anything discussed herein.