101-year-old pilot still flying

SOMERSET, Pa., June 23 (UPI) -- A 101-year-old Somerset, Pa., man who recently renewed his license might be the nation's oldest licensed pilot, said the man who administered the pilot's test.

Ernie Trent said he has been flying planes since the 1930s -- including a stint training B-52 pilots during World War II -- and he has never crashed an airplane or been injured by a plane-related incident, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported Monday.

"I just like airplanes," Trent said.

Richard Gibbs, a longtime friend of Trent's who oversaw the elderly pilot's last proficiency test, described his friend as "the oldest licensed pilot in the United States. At least as far as I know."

Gibbs said Trent, who must pass a proficiency test every two years, remains sturdy in the cockpit of his single-engine Avid Flyer plane.

"It's very natural to him," Gibbs said. "His skill level is pretty high."