FAA Forum To Review Age 60 Rule for Pilots

FAA Administrator Marion Blakey yesterday established a forum of airline, labor and medical experts to recommend whether the U.S. should adopt the new International Civil Aviation Organization standard effective November 23 that will allow one of the two pilots in the flight deck to be over age 60, but not over 65. The forum will also determine what actions would be necessary if the FAA were to change its rule. “The FAA must ensure that any future rule change, should it occur, provides an equal or better level of safety to passengers,” said Blakey. Since 1959, the FAA has required that all U.S. pilots stop flying under Part 121 at age 60. The forum, officially named the Age 60 Aviation Rulemaking Committee, has been asked to complete its work within–what else?–60 days. Part 121 age 60 exemption requests submitted to the FAA by scores of pilots over the last several years have been consistently rejected by the agency.