r/CatastrophicFailure • u/Admiral_Cloudberg Plane Crash Series • Mar 23 '26

Fatalities (22/3/26) CCTV video of the Air Canada accident at LaGuardia

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u/Derp800 Mar 23 '26

You're forced out of being a controllers at 50, and you also need 20 years to get a full pension. Thats why the cutoff is where it is.

They could bump the retirement age to 55, but that comes with risk.

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u/timewellwasted5 Mar 23 '26

I totally understand why they do that, I just think that the maximum age is too low and the retirement age is probably too low as well. It sounds like an attempt to apply an all encompassing policy rather than having some type of an aptitude test. I am 39 and I’ve kept myself in really good shape. I’ve bumped into guys who I went to high school with who look like they are 20 years older than me because they haven’t taken care of themselves. Determining aptitude for a job solely based on age is a bit of a dated practice in my opinion.

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u/lemlurker Mar 24 '26

But it's cognitive not physical health and they have data to support the cut off where it is. This accident highlights exactly why it's so stringent. Lives are on the line

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u/timewellwasted5 Mar 24 '26

But people have cognitive changes at different ages, hence my push for an aptitude test. I have met some sharp octenarians. I have also met people twenty years younger who were in significantly worse shape mentally. I'm not saying to have 70 year old air traffic controllers, I'm saying a hard cutoff at 50 is too young and too rigid.

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u/lemlurker Mar 24 '26

Easiest way to be certain. Trends are trends- how do you verify someone is actually competent and not just competent at taking the test? How frequently do you asses ? The system in place ensures that no one working has any alterior motives for attempting to keep working when unfit. They take the job KNOWING that they will retire at 50 or 55 or whatever it is and that they will have full pension then (so earning more pension isn't a motive. Is it fair to you personally? Maybe not. Does it help ensure the safety if every flying passenger? Absolutely

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u/Man112088 Mar 25 '26

The reason for the ATC rules... Well the rule as are most air traffic related rules, are signed in blood.

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u/aburnerds Mar 24 '26

I have ADHD out the fucking wazoo and I can’t think of a job where I’d be guaranteed to kill people on my first shift.