My simulator instructor grinned, "So, your captain has gone unconscious. It looks like he just had a heart attack. You're flying. What do you do?"
I knew it was a trick question, but I was a probationary pilot with less than a year at the airline. I felt obligated to give him a by-the-book answer. "You declare an emergency and land the airplane at the nearest suitable airport?" I asked.
The simulator instructor shook his head, chuckling. "Naaa…you move him out of your seat!"
I smirked. It was a professional airline joke that had been passed down for generations. That was almost 20 years ago. I'm not smirking today.
Why? It's really not because I am closer to the end of my career than the beginning, but rather that the FAA's definition of retirement age is being challenged. FAR Part 121.383c states: No certificate holder may use the services of any person as a pilot on an airplane engaged in operations under this part if that person has reached his 60th birthday.
This regulation has become a contentious issue. The present state of the industry has left some airline pilots without a pension, while others may be facing a similar fate. Flying beyond the age of 60 may be the only choice available, other than opting for a new career.
The retirement regulation was written into law in 1959. Although it has never been substantiated, there is convincing documentation that C.R. Smith, the first CEO of American Airlines, had a big part in the regulation. Former general E.R. Quesada had just been appointed administrator for the newly created FAA. American Airlines was about to enter the jet age. C.R. Smith was convinced that his older pilots might not be able to handle the transition from propellers. He felt that the new ranks of military-trained younger pilots were more capable. The pilots of American Airlines argued it was a simple matter of economics. The younger and more junior pilots would be training at a lower pay scale. The airline's company policy had already established 60 as the retirement age. C.R. Smith had considerable political clout in Washington. He persuaded Administrator Quesada to pursue an FAA mandatory retirement age for airline pilots. Regardless of what you believe, the rest is history.
So what are the arguments? The two largest pilot's unions, the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) and the Allied Pilots Association (APA), endorse the regulation as it stands. They cite medical reasons, or more specifically, the aging process. It is hard to dispute the fact that as we grow older so do our body parts. The major issue for airline pilots is our cardiac system. There seems to be no precise medical test to predict its functionality, but the odds of it deteriorating increase as we approach age 60. There seems to be no precise medical test to predict the functionality of other biological systems, either. There are just too many variables. Testing for cognitive functions is equally complicated. ALPA & APA agree that the FAA has supported an arbitrary number, but if it's not broke, why try to fix it?
