There was a HNL rope-start “herpes” pilot who flew till he was 80. Kept passing his medicals and check rides. Go figure…

there are plenty of under age 65 pilots who couldn’t pass more stringent medical/cognitive tests now. Be careful what you wish for.

Age 60 was a greed-driven deal by the then CEO of AA and the then Administrator of the CAA because he wanted his senior Union supporting pilots forced out.

The age limit has always been a political thing.

 

Careful. Objectively that's not exactly what the WP says.

It could be interpreted to be "raise the age now" and study it as we go to make sure it stays safe.

I suspect it was deliberately crafted to be vague, looks like the emphasis is on supporting member states who may be reluctant to make their own decision. But if certain entities are pushing this, it doesn't matter what other member states do, as long as THEY can raise their own age (or already have), and the ICAO age goes up, they can still get whatever benefit they're looking for. They don't really care whether Lichtenstein and Namibia raise their age or not.

I speak fluent bureaucrat, from years in mil HHQs. At that level nothing is accidental. Kind of like Retroactivity vs. Non-Retroactivity.

Also this is interesting:

2.2.6
The two leading concerns for future risk of medical-cause fatal accidents are mental health conditions and problematic substance use (e.g., alcohol and other drugs). These potential causes of aviation related fatalities tend to present in a younger demographic.

 

Quote:

In 2006 ICAO implemented Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) to raise the age limit from 60 to 65 for pilots undertaking multi-pilot international commercial air transport (CAT) operations. Building on the work already done by ICAO through the Medical Provisions Study Group over the past 19 years in considering further extensions of age limits, this paper proposes that ICAO now raise the age to 67 years. This change should follow a similar approach to that which was successfully applied in 2006, and be implemented within a framework of additional safety assurance measures.

ACTION A: Calls on ICAO to raise the upper age limit for international multi-pilot CAT operations from 65 to 67 now.

ACTIONS B and C: Function as future-proofing, by creating standardized medical oversight systems and implementation guidance, they lay the groundwork for potentially reconsidering or even removing the upper limit later.

This framing aligns with ICAO’s handling of IATA’s request for survey data: among the 193 member states, some are deemed “capable” of managing pilots above a restrictive age limit (67) through strong oversight systems, while many others are not.

Actions B and C move toward the long-term goal of enabling those incapable states to safely expand beyond a restrictive limit.

 

Sounds like the opposite of an enhancement to overall system safety.

 

If younger pilots are the problem, why do they need one in the cockpit with them to be legal? (Age 67 needs one under 65 under this proposal).

 

In 2003, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) began discussions to increase the pilot retirement age to 65. After three years of debate and consultation, ICAO formally amended its standards in November 2006.

In 2007, Congress passed the
Fair Treatment for Experienced Pilots Act, which raised the mandatory retirement age for commercial pilots from 60 to 65. The bill was signed into law on December 13, 2007.

The stand alone LEPF bill has very small chance. The 118th congress is one of the most contentious in history.

Even if ICAO instantly raised the age this week, as opposed to taking 3 years like last time, then a bill would have to be passed in congress.
ICAO would make a pathway for that bill, but it would still likely get hung up.

This has to pass through a UN agency that moves at the speed of smell followed by a strongly divided congress going to extreme measures to disrupt each other.

I think anyone trying to raise funds by saying the age will be raised in the United States anytime soon is kind of disingenuous to those with months left.

 

Just found it interesting that they called that out.

Maybe the idea is the younger pilot is there in case the old guys strokes out, and the old guy can supervise if the kid's micro-dosing experiment goes awry.

 

Had a good laugh at that - thank you!

 

You mean mentorship

 

They don’t want go be “mentored”. I quit giving out tips years ago.