Yes and teenagers fall over dead on football fields. Yet the odds of a 25 y/o dying from a stroke or heart attack are likely just a tad bit lower than someone whom is 74 years old.
You can play the argument game all day long, but you are only fooling yourself by trying to convince anyone that someone at age 74 shouldn't be under a bit more scrutiny, than say a 25 or 30 y/o when it comes to competing in such a sport. Specially when others lives are also at risk.
Of course he is going to be under closer scrutiny, and he was (as colmbo pointed out the medical
is stricter for older folks) and he passed said scrutiny. Unless you're going to claim that the MD who did his last medical faked it, and if that's true then that doctor is done. I'm sure the NTSB will look into that as well.
Like I said, unless the FAA changes it's rules, you cannot ground a private pilot based only on their age.
Others lives are at risk anytime anybody goes flying, or driving for that matter, should we not allow 74 yr olds to drive either, heck they might plow into an elementary school playground. Maybe they should raise the minimum pilot age too, I know lots of 17yr olds I don't think are mature enough to handle an airplane. I could think of excuses for why almost anybody of any age could be a dangerous flyer, young people are immature and lack experience, middle age people are having a mid-life crisis and are reckless, old people aren't as strong and forgetful... ...
As has been pointed out several times, he was subjected to 9+Gs (we know that is what is needed to drop the tailwheel) which in 1998, from the same failure, also knocked out a pilot of 41 yrs old, does that mean 41 is too old to compete as well?
Life involves risk, that's just the way it is. A life without risk would be awfully boring. Maybe you'll be content to just sit in your rocker yelling at kids on your grass in your twilight years, I would rather still be active though, and almost all activities involve some level of risk.
