The “Age 60 Rule” has been an operational rule for many years. Causing moral outrage with many pilots over the years, this rule prohibited a pilot from flying a “Part 121 air carrier once upon reaching his or her 60th birthday.”. This rule is in section 121.383 of the Federal Aviation Regulations and it has been challenged extensively over the years.
Despite objections, the age 60 rule remained for any years and continued to affect the carrier of any pilot who was piloting for Part 121 air carrier. This contentious rule came about towards the end of the 1950s. There was no federally mandated retirement age at the time for commercial pilots but some leading airlines had already begun to devise plans for the retirement age to be 60.
In 1958-1959, the first steps to the age 60 rule took place. Despite a large opposition from a variety of aviation organizations, the final age 60 rule was published on December 5, 1959. Then, on March 15, 1960, the rule became effective. This was said to be based on medical uncertainties regarding pilot’s health when over the age of 60 but many argue that it was a political decision by the CEO of American Airlines C.R. Smith.
FAA argues otherwise and states that the standard rule-making procedures were undertaken to “maintain a high level of safety in part 121 operations.” To this day, the age 60 rule has been the subject of fierce criticism. The FAA continued to argue that important physiological and psychological functions occur as you age so the rule was in place for sheer safety purposes.
The FAA believed that medical defects such as heart attacks or strokes could occur without warning but those who were 60 and over were more susceptible to such health concerns. Critics argue that there is no way that you can predict when any individual can experience such problems, no matter their age but the age 60 rule remained for many years and was thought to be unchangeable.
However, in 2007 the age 60 rule changed as the retirement age rose to 65. This was simply the “law of the land.” This standard age was met by the rest of the world and was warmly welcomed by many pilots and aerospace physicians. This change was thought to reflect the reality that today’s 60-year-old and over pilots are physically fit enough to continue flying and their valuable experience should not be taken out of the cockpit so soon.