A committee formed to advise US Federal Aviation Administration administrator Marion Blakey on possible increases to the age limit for US commercial pilots failed to reach a consensus, and could only recommend that should a change be made it must be prospective.
Despite this, Blakey is expected to issue a decision on the raising of pilot age limits to 65 from 60 within the next few weeks.
The Age 60 Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) report, which was issued in November but released to the public today, notes several key differences of opinion among and within industry groups, and possible legal and economic hurdles should the FAA change the so-called Age 60 rule to a more relaxed Age 65 policy adopted by the International Civil Aviation Organization.
ICAO since November has allowed one commercial pilot to be aged up to 65 as long as the other pilot is less than 60 years old, although it does not mandate this policy. Current US law limits both pilots’ age at all domestic airlines to 60.
The issue split the ARC’s members, with two positions dominating: either adopt or reject the ICAO rule.
“While reviewing both positions papers, the ARC also evaluated the impact on the industry and the FAA of adopting the ICAO standard and heard from and considered information from both working groups. The ARC members found that some air carriers do not have concerns over implementation issues, while other air carries have significant concerns,” says the committee.
“Issues raised that would need to be considered if a new age standard were adopted include the following: the timeframe required for FAA rulemaking action; economic and operational issues such as the impact on retirement plans; salary and benefits; training costs; planning, scheduling, and bidding software; pilot staffing; air carriers with second officers; and augmented flight deck crews; and reinstatement rights for pilots.”
But the ARC’s members did little to progress beyond identifying the issues. “The Age 60 issue remains contentious for the commercial aviation industry. The ARC members, while collaborating to identify many issues, were unable to reach a consensus on whether or not the FAA should adopt the ICAO standard,” notes the report.
However, both sides did agree on one issue. “Any change to the Age 60 Rule should be prospective. If preventing reinstatement is outside the scope of the [FAA’s] administrator’s authority, federal legislation may be required to protect companies and unions from lawsuits that may arise challenging the prospective nature of the change, such as reinstatement of employment, seniority, and/or crew position.”
A FAA spokeswoman says the committee report has been reviewed, and that Blakey could issue a decision within weeks.
Source: FlightGlobal.com
