Career coup de grace. The best thing that everhappened to a seniority list. A moral outrage. Take your pick -- the FAA'sso-called Age 60 Rule has been called these and many other things. Where doesthe rhetoric end and the truth begin? That, apparently, depends upon one'sperspective: junior or senior pilot, career DOT bureaucrat, airline managementor white-knuckle passenger. The rule, enshrined in section 121.383{c} of theFederal Aviation Regulations, mandates that a pilot may not fly in revenueservice for a Part 121 air carrier upon reaching his or her 60th birthday. Alook back at the rule's origins suggests that politics had more to do with itsenactment than did findings of medical science, or otherwise well-documentedconcerns about air safety. Despite numerous challenges to its existence,including a recently-decided U.S. District court case, the rule remains inplace. For the foreseeable future at least, it will continue to affect thecareer of any pilot who flies for a Part 121 air carrier.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.avweb.com/flight-safety/the-age-60-rule-how-it-came-to-be