title: Cognitive aging and flight performances in general aviation pilots.
abstract: Unlike professional pilots who are limited by the FAA's age rule, no age limit is defined in general aviation. Our overall goal was to examine how age-related cognitive decline impacts piloting performance and weather-related decision-making. This study relied on three components: cognitive assessment (in particular executive functioning), pilot characteristics (age and flight experience), and flight performance. The results suggest that in comparison to chronological age, cognitive assessment is a better criterion to predict the flight performance, in particular because of the inter-individual variability of aging impact on cognitive abilities and the beneficial effect of flight experience.
authors.affiliation: INSERM, Imagerie Cérébrale et Handicaps Neurologiques UMR 825, Toulouse, France. mickael.causse@isae.fr
authors.forename: Mickaël
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Causse
authors.forename: Frédéric
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Dehais
authors.forename: Mahé
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Arexis
authors.forename: Josette
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pastor
mesh_terms: D000337:Aerospace Medicine; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D001359:Aviation; D003071:Cognition; D003657:Decision Making; D056344:Executive Function; D005602:France; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011930:Reaction Time; D012044:Regression Analysis