Originally Posted by Blue Dude

The risk of age related medical incapacitation was the post facto rationale for the age 60 limit but it's not why it was enacted. There was no rash of accidents or incidents leading up to making this rule. There was no slate of peer reviewed studies indicating that allowing pilots to fly past age 60 was an unacceptable risk to the public. It was made at that time and place only because a powerfully connected airline exec called in some favors. The rest is just political cover, and 62 year old political cover at that. Still works though.