(Radio Iowa) – As the nation faces a worsening shortage of airline pilots, Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says he has some ideas about how to solve the problem, though he’s still undecided about a proposal that would allow for a single pilot to fly commercial jets. “There’s something a little scary for me of just having one pilot in the cockpit, but I can sure understand why we’re trying to find a solution to the shortage of pilots,” Grassley says. “My answer to that is to extend the retirement age for people that are healthy.”

Under FAA guidelines, commercial airline pilots in the U.S. face a mandatory retirement age of 65, though Grassley says just raising the age may not be sufficient to reverse the trend. “Another way I would do it would reduce the number of hours that you have to have to become a pilot,” Grassley says, “because it was increased from 500 to 1,500 hours because of some accident in Buffalo, New York about probably five to ten years ago.”

Learfield file photo

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has been sent separate letters from 45 U.S. senators and more than 150 House members urging him to oppose the single-pilot proposal. One of the letters warns: “The presence of two rested, well-trained and qualified pilots on the flight deck remains a key pillar of aviation safety.” Iowa Senator Joni Ernst signed the Senate letter, but Grassley did not. In part, Grassley says there may’ve been a miscommunication, in addition to his being undecided on the issue. “I don’t want to be opposite Joni Ernst because I’m answering your question without full consideration of all the debates,” Grassley says. “I assume that I was asked to sign it and either overlooked it, because I didn’t make a decision not to sign it.”

It’s not just a domestic pilot shortage, as a report from Boeing projects 674,000 pilots will be needed worldwide over the next 20 years to meet a growing demand for air travel, with 123,000 of those pilots just in North America.