Careers · Facts & sources
5 sourced facts about airline captains and pilots, each with the context behind the number. 4 more are in today's round and appear here after it closes.
Answer1,500 hours
This requirement, needed to captain a US airliner, was raised sharply after a fatal 2009 crash.
Source: Wikipedia - Airline transport pilot license (2013) en.wikipedia.org
Answer23 years old
This is several years older than the minimum age needed for a private pilot license.
Source: Wikipedia - Airline transport pilot license (2013) en.wikipedia.org
Answer65 years old
Congress raised the retirement age from 60 to 65 in 2007.
Source: Wikipedia - Airline pilot (2007) en.wikipedia.org
Answerabout 3%
Despite decades of women flying commercially, the airline pilot profession remains overwhelmingly male.
Source: Wikipedia - Women in aviation (2020) en.wikipedia.org
Answer164,193 pilots
That's a much smaller share of all US certificate holders — most pilots never fly for an airline.
Source: Wikipedia - Airline pilot (2020) en.wikipedia.org