I know a lot of senior pilots, whom I admire immensely, and continue to learn from. I have notice that they tend to self regulate the types of flying they do so as to be less demanding in several senses. Something about superior judgement instead of superior skill (and stamina, I suppose). One more reason I respect them....
Sure; i'm just not sure how that explains a hand written 2009 entry form gives the age at 59 instead of 72 or how you have time on that aircraft at 2500+ when the thing itself has only 1400, and total hours that vary wildly from 2009 thru 2011. Don't people just look at their logbook to find total hours?
Thing is if you just want to take a "yeah it will be ok lets self regulate" attitude that might actually be fine but we don't have that in aviation do we? We are no longer in the age of the Wright brothers and one thing this folksy wisdom ignores is that a bunch of innocent people died and perhaps when you look at all the "Don't knows" in the interviews with crew and engineering people perhaps everyone believed that everyone one else had things covered when in fact nobody did.