Fair Treatment of Experienced Pilots Act 

(The Age 65 Law) 

Information, Questions and Answers 

Updated May 9, 2019

General 

This document contains information relating to the Fair Treatment of Experienced Pilots Act (the 

Act) that was signed into law by the President on December 13, 2007. That Act is recorded as 

Public Law 110-135, and became effective immediately. 

The Act is self-explanatory and clear in most respects, but it raises some questions. In an effort 

to promote uniform understanding of the Act, and uniform implementation of its provisions, the 

FAA is consolidating in this document questions and answers relating to safety issues, as those 

questions are received and resolved. The date of the current revision is shown at the top of each 

page, and is updated each time this document is revised with new or amended content. 

Background 

In November, 2006, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) revised the maximum 

age for certain pilots in international operations from age 60 to age 65. Until December 13, 2007, 

the United States, an ICAO member state, limited its pilots operating under Title 14 of the Code 

of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) part 121 to age 60. Now those pilots may continue until age 65, 

as specified in the Act. 

The Act can be downloaded from the following public website: 

https://www.congress.gov/110/plaws/publ135/PLAW-110publ135.pdf

Key provisions of the Act include the following: 

• As of December 13, 2007, part 121, § 121.383(c), specifying age 60, ceased to be effective. 

• A pilot age 60+ acting as pilot in command (PIC) in international operations must be paired 

with a pilot under age 60 (consistent with the current ICAO requirement). 

• In domestic operations both pilots may be age 60+. 

• It permits the continued employment of a pilot who reaches age 60 on or after 12/13/07. 

• It permits the employment as a new-hire a pilot who reached age 60 before 12/13/07. 

• Any pilot age 60+ must hold a first-class medical certificate, with a duration of 6 months. 

• Any air carrier employing pilots age 60+ must adjust its training program to ensure such 

pilots’ skill and judgment continue at acceptable levels. 

• No air carrier may use the services of any person as a pilot on an airplane engaged in 

operations under part 121 if that person has reached his or her 65th birthday.
Questions and Answers 

Question #1: During international operations, must a pilot younger than age 60 be on the flight 

deck at all times when a PIC over age 60 is on the flight deck? 

Answer: No. A pilot younger than age 60 does not have to be on the flight deck at all times 

when a PIC over age 60 is on the flight deck. When there is an augmented flight deck crew 

assigned to a flight, that assigned flight deck crew must include one pilot who is licensed, 

current, qualified, appropriately rated for all phases of flight, and younger than age 60. 

Under Title 49 of the United States Code (49 U.S.C.), § 44729(c)(1), a pilot who has attained 60 

years of age may serve as a PIC for part 121 operations between the United States and another 

country only if there is another pilot assigned to the flight deck crew who has not yet attained 60 

years of age. This section reflects Congress’s intent to follow the recommend International Civil 

Aviation Organization (ICAO) standard for international operations. 

However, ICAO and the FAA suggest that a pilot under age 60 be at the controls (a crew duty 

position) during critical phases of the flight (such as below 10,000 feet). The FAA expects air 

carriers and PICs to use best scheduling practices and crew management to ensure maximum 

compliance with this recommendation to have a pilot under age 60 be at the controls (a crew 

duty position) during critical phases of the flight (such as below 10,000 feet). Issues such as pilot 

seniority are not considered valid reasons for noncompliance. 

The minimum requirement for international operations, however, is that a flight may not depart 

unless the flight deck crew includes one pilot who is licensed, current, qualified, appropriately 

rated for all phases of flight, and younger than age 60.

Question #2: A part 121 flight departs from a point in the United States, transits international 

airspace, and then lands at a point in the United States without making an intermediary stop. 

Under US code (Title 49) if the PIC is over age 60 does one member of the assigned flight deck

crew have to be under age 60? 

Answer: No. In accordance with the Fair Treatment of Experienced Pilots Act, now codified at 

49 USC Section 44729 (also known as the age 65 law), all pilots could be over age 60 as long as 

they had not attained age 65. For example, for a flight from the continental US to Alaska, 

Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, or Guam, the US code would not require a pilot 

under the age of 60. 

Question #3: The Fair Treatment for Experienced Pilots Act (The Act), 49 U.S.C. § 

44729(g)(2), states: 

“No person who has attained 60 years of age may serve as a pilot of an air carrier engaged in 

covered operations unless the person has a first-class medical certificate. Such a certificate shall 
expire on the last day of the 6-month period following the date of examination shown on the 

certificate.” 

Under the provisions of this section, when do first-class medical certificates expire for pilots 

over the age of 60? 

Answer: The FAA interprets the “6-month period” referenced in Section 44729 (g)(2) to mean 

that first-class medical certificates for pilots over age 60 expire at the end of the last day of the 

6th calendar month after the month of the date of examination shown on the medical certificate. 

Question #4: Does this provision change how expiration of a first-class medical certificate is 

calculated for pilots over age 60? 

Answer: No. The expiration date of a First Class medical certificate for a pilot over age 60 is 

calculated in the same way as the expiration date of a First Class medical certificate for a pilot 

under age 60. 

Question #5: Currently, 14 CFR Section 61.77(e) prohibits a person who holds a special purpose 

pilot authorization from serving as a pilot in certain international air services and air 

transportation operations if the pilot has reached the age of 60. 

Since the passage of the Fair Treatment for Experienced Pilots Act, may the holder of a special 

purpose pilot authorization serve as a pilot on a civil airplane of U.S. registry until the age of 65? 

Answer: Yes. Pilots holding a special purpose pilot authorization are not explicitly addressed by 

the new law. However, the FAA finds no basis in safety for prohibiting them from flying until 

age 65 and believes that Congress intended that they be permitted to do so in drafting the Fair 

Treatment for Experienced Pilots Act. The intent of Congress was to bring the United States into 

conformity with the standard ratified by the member states of ICAO (International Civil Aviation 

Organization) and adopted in November of 2007. Accordingly, the FAA interprets the law 

permissively in this respect, and is currently amending its own regulations to reflect that 

interpretation.

Question #6: The Act required that any pilot age 60+ must undergo a line check at 6-month 

intervals however, on February 14, 2012, Congress enacted the FAA Modernization and Reform 

Act of 2012. Section 305 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act removed this line check 

requirement from the statute. What steps has the FAA taken to conform its regulatory 

requirements to this statutory change?

Answer: The FAA has not enforced the line check requirements for pilots who have attained 60 

years of age since February 14, 2012, the date of enactment of the FAA Modernization and 

Reform Act. Further, the agency made conforming changes to 14 C.F.R. § 121.440 by removing 

paragraphs (d) through (f), effective June 12, 2012.