October 23 2005
A Nigerian airliner Boeing 737-200 with 110 passengers and 6 crew on board crashed shortly after departing Lagos in Nigeria bound for Abuja
 
"the pilot made a distress call minutes after take-off on Saturday night indicating the plane had a technical problem - a heavy electrical storm existed at the time"

Authorities located the wreckage of the Bellview Airlines B737 near Kishi in southwestern Nigeria about 200 km (120 miles) north of Lagos - click HERE for site image

Media reports from reliable sources indicate there were no survivors - other reports are suggesting sabotage

October 22 2005
Tyagarah airstrip - popular with recreational pilots and flying enthusiasts situated between Byron Bay and Coolangatta - lost 2 male persons (father & son) when their ultralight aircraft impacted the sea shortly after take-off
 
The aircraft had not been located 3 days after the mishap - the search for the 2 POB continues

October 22 2005
In West OZ a crop-duster is reported down in the Wheatbelt town of Ballidu about 200 kilometres north-east of Perth
 
The 43-year-old pilot lost his life in the accident
 
A day earlier an ultralight crashed near Mareeba in FNQ also with the loss of the pilot
 
Investigations are under way by the authorities

In the USA this Cessna C210 ended up landing on a road after running out of fuel - after refuelling an attempt was made to take-off - the pilot lost control when aircraft's right wing impacted the side-mirror of an 18-wheeler parked on the side of the road
 
The 210 ..."then hit a Baker Police Dept emergency vehicle and crashed into the woods"

In the USA AOPA are carrying out a study to evaluate the cognitive and neuro-muscular skills of pilots as they age by examining insurance claims and probing the AOPA Air Safety Foundation's accident database for the causes of accidents involving older pilots
 
There are about 3,800 FAA-certified pilots age 80 and up - click HERE for the 'Old Bold' statement

The 500+ member group United Flying Octogenarians (UFOs) are participating in the AOPA's study - 91 year-old Herbert Sloane of Alabama is reported as saying that he thinks the number of pilots over 80 is increasing because older people are "taking better care of themselves and insisting on doing things that, a few years ago, were denied them - people our age were supposed to sit in rocking chairs"