Wednesday, November 15, 2000
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Wednesday, November 15, 2000 |
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Pilot on mission to scrub age 60 retirement rule
By SALLIE SATTERTHWAITE
To hear Dick Allis tell it, he was dragged kicking and screaming from the cockpit of his L-1011 by a "silly federal law that says I have to retire at age 60." He didn't want to retire, and soon everyone who watches network TV news will know it. They'll also know that when the day he dreaded came, Allis walked away with dignity. A Delta Air Lines captain with 36 years of flying experience, Allis was introducing himself to first class passengers not long ago, when he mentioned that the airplane they were in would retire in a year, and that his own last flight would be Nov. 4. One of his passengers was Erin Hayes, an ABC News correspondent who told him she was doing a piece concerning the age-60 mandatory retirement law. He agreed to participate, and when Hayes called him later, she said ABC wanted to film the entire retirement flight, complete with the associated ceremony. Allis saw a way he could make a statement, and at the same time thank his employer for what he has considered a dream career. "I wanted to go out with a bang," Allis says, "and I also wanted to make Delta Air Lines look good. Delta is one of the best companies to fly for no, Delta is the best. As a pilot, you can't get any better job." In Ft. Lauderdale, on the day of the retirement flight, Hayes whose sister, Alicia, is also a Delta pilot interviewed Allis for about 15 minutes in his hotel dining room. Then, aboard Delta Flight 459, the camera rolled as he did his preflight checklist and greeted passengers. He allowed the crew to film from the cockpit as he rolled out through the traditional salute of fire trucks arching sprays of water over the aircraft. The salute was repeated at Atlanta's Hartsfield International when Flight 459 arrived at 4:50 p.m. on time and with a smooth landing, Allis noted, despite some en route holding. "They filmed us deplaning, saying good-bye to the passengers, and then the ceremony at the gate with the ALPA (Airline Pilots' Association) representative and the chief pilot," he said. Hayes said the story will air on ABC's "World News Tonight" with Peter Jennings sometime during the week of Nov. 20, seen weeknights at 7 on the network's Atlanta affiliate, WSB, Channel 2. So what's ABC's angle? "They wanted to know exactly why I didn't want to retire," Allis said. His short, business-related answer was a question: "Why retire at 60 when the airlines need pilots?" said Allis, adding, "The younger pilots are not too happy with me for expressing that opinion." ALPA too favors the federal mandate because it keeps the upward career path open to younger pilots. But there are other reasons Allis is eager for people to understand and the foremost of these, indisputably, is experience. A pilot with his years of experience knows when to stop the operation, and brings more to decision-making than younger pilots, he said. "I've refused to take off or to accept an airplane because I wasn't satisfied with it and I want to say, Delta has always backed me up on my decisions." Moreover, he says, as a safety specialist concerning certain airplanes, he believes that senior pilots know how to deal with stress and all that's affected by it. Allis has written articles on the subject of safety and communications for Airline Pilot Magazine. He also has been a facilitator for crew resource management, which "pertains to teamwork through better communication and coordination among cockpit crew, flight attendants and ground crews, maintenance, gate agents, flight control, flight dispatchers everyone involved in the operation." CRM also helps develop decision-making and reasoning powers, pointing out common pitfalls in crew interaction and personnel decision-making all techniques for a safer operation. "It's a very intense program," the veteran flier says, describing how he alternated months of flying with months as a CRM facilitator, also doing line checks, teaching "brand-new captains the ins and outs of the operation. You learn a lot when you teach someone else." Allis' career began in ROTC at Bowling Green University in Ohio, after which he got his private license. After completion of Air Force pilot training, Allis flew B-47s out of Idaho, then C-130s in and out of Vietnam, where he received two air medals for combat missions. Back at Langley AFB in Virginia, he continued flying cargo and troops to European assignments. "I went with Delta in March of 1969, and made captain in 11 years," Allis said, noting that he was always based in Atlanta, flying domestic routes. "Twenty years as captain, my total time is almost 21,000 hours, and I've flown just about every airplane they had." He's heard the arguments about slower reactions caused by aging, and counters that times have changed: A 60-year-old pilot in the year 2000 is in far better shape than many younger pilots were a generation ago, he says. Today, instead of gathering in a bar on a layover, health-conscious pilots are much likelier to go jogging or to work out in a gym, and very few smoke. Then when should senior pilots retire? "When they can't pass the check ride or a first class physical," Allis replies instantly, claiming to be in better shape than some pilots 40 or 45. An avid bicyclist, he often pedals 400 or more miles a week, this year completing BRAG (Bike Ride Across Georgia) and BAMA (Bike ride Across Magnificent Alabama) back-to-back 960 miles in two weeks. "You can't say there's a certain age when people should stop flying," he continues. "It's like driving a car. Some people shouldn't be driving a car, but can you imagine if they set an age limit on driving for everybody?" Noting that in Europe most countries do not mandate retirement until age 65, Allis is applying to several airlines in England. He and his wife of 38 years, Jan, have a son and a daughter and are weighing their options: what to do with their Peachtree City house, and how will plans change when their first grandchild arrives in February? Finally Allis admits his real reason for not wanting to retire: he loves flying. He has never wanted to retire. It's that simple. He feels he is at the top of his game. "I worked hard to get where I am now," Allis says, "doing check rides, keeping myself in shape. Why waste all that hard work to get to the age of 60 and have to leave?" Right now, he says, it feels as though he's on vacation, but reality is beginning to sink in. "I just don't want to quit," he muses. "Some people don't like to work. Maybe I'm the exception I like to work, and I'm doing what I want to do." He pauses, realizing he should be using past tense. "Every day you go and fly, it's 'another day, another adventure.' I tried to make them all positive. It's a challenge to make the operation go better," he said. "Take away the challenge, and there's a big void."
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