Let Experienced Pilots Fly
“EXPERIENCE MATTERS”
Dear Colleagues,
The Latest:
On May 8, 2025 we held a meeting of our Board of Directors. We were briefed, by our lobbyist and legislative committee, on the political landscape and we discussed the urgency to getting a standalone bill re-introduced.
We recognize that things are not moving as quickly as we wish, but rest assured that we will get this done! Many of you undoubtedly remember the years it takes to negotiate a contract, and the potential to feel battle-fatigue. With that in mind, we would like to remind you that we continue to impress upon our allies on the Hill of the urgency we feel to RTA. We are very sensitive to the fact that we lose about 17 pilots a day to their 65th birthday.
We are working very hard on educating members of congress and their staff. We are the subject matter experts and part of our job is to educate them on the nuances of our profession and how mandatory retirement has a direct impact on airline safety.
We are all aware of the current challenges in government. One of those is passing a reconciliation bill. We are working with Senator Graham to re-introduce his bill to RTA. Senator Graham is also the Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, and his immediate focus is to get the Reconciliation Bill out of committee, before re-introducing our bill to RTA.
We expect bill re-introduction by summer. Once that happens, we will schedule a DC fly-in for all of us to meet with our congressional representatives and ask for their support.
We had a positive meeting with the FAA and they indicated to us that implementation would not be a complex issue.
Additionally, during a dinner with Senator Cruz and staff, they indicated that once the bill is introduced, they will find a vehicle to implement. LEPF President Barry Kendrick and Senator Cruz have a very positive relationship.
We will be in DC as much as required to continue working with our allies in congress, as well as establishing more relationships with those that have offered to assist us.
We cannot overstate the fact that we have expenses, namely our lobbyist, who holds the ability to schedule meetings and is our daily boots-on-the-ground team in DC. Your board members are volunteers and none of us receive any compensation for the work we do.
If you are a contributor to LEPF, you have our unending gratitude. You are making it possible for this effort to take place. Without LEPF there is no bill.
Let’s be candid, many of you are not helping your fellow pilots’ efforts, by standing on the sidelines. It is not fair that some contribute while others simply wait to reap the benefit of their fellow pilots’ contributions.
We are asking that you become financially vested in this effort. It is not fair that you ride on the shoulders of others. We all need to be part of the effort. We all must have skin in the game. For ease, you can make monthly contributions, or a larger lump sum.
Look at your financial support as an investment in your future. When the age is raised and you are able to fly beyond 65, the return on your investment with LEPF will be exponentially greater than any other investment, bar none.
Please help us help you!
Click on this link to contribute: raisethepilotage.com
We are planning a social event for our members following the fund-raising lunch with Senator Marsha Blackburn, May 30, in Nashville. The commitment to attend this lunch with the senator is $1000/person. Sen. Blackburn has been a steady advocate to RTA and has taken some initiatives in that effort. More details to follow… We continue to enlist signatures to Senator Blackburn’s bi-partisan letter to the US Mission at ICAO, for stronger US participation in the ICAO effort to RTA. We were asked to participate in the drafting of the letter.
Our LEPF PAC (Political Action Committee) is active. Whether we agree or not, political contributions are part of the process in conducting business in DC. It is imperative that we have a place at the table. An old friend once said: “If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu.” Click here raisethepilotage.com to donate.
If you are a resident of NV, NJ, PA, WI, or MI, we need you to sign up with us to meet your senators and representatives. Please reach out to us at raisethepilotage@gmail.com
CORRECTION: On the issue of AME letters to Congress, we stated the name of Rep. Nehls in error. Instead of Nehls, please address to Chair Graves. The correction is below as well as the re-issue of the draft letter. Thank you to all that have already secured letters from your AME.
- We need to add more FAA Flight Surgeons (AME) to our list of medical advocates writing a letter to congress, in support of RTA, or eliminating it altogether. WE ARE ASKING that you copy/print out the generic letter at the end of this NOTAM for each of you to take to your AME and ask them to write a letter for us. The doctor can either fill in the blanks on this one or develop one in his/her own words, and return to you. Once you have them, please send them to us at raisethepilotage@gmail.com
- We need three individual letters addressed to the following: 1- Chair Cruz and Ranking Member Cantwell, 2- Chair Moran and Ranking Member Duckworth, 3- Chair Graves and Ranking Member Larsen
- See below for the sample draft.
- OUR MEMBERSHIP IS GROWING and we want to thank our new members for joining us in our effort, as well as their generous contributions. Please help grow our membership further by directing those supporters you fly with to join our cause. At some point, most pilots will want to fly beyond age 65 and you should ask them for some skin in the game to help us achieve our sole goal of Raising The Age.
Thank you for your donations, support, and your continued involvement in fighting this discrimination on our profession.
Experience Matters!
LEPF
HERE IS THE DRAFT AME LETTER:
Date
Dear Chair ______ and
Ranking Member ______:
I write to express my support of raising the mandatory Commercial Pilot Retirement age above 65 years of age.
My name is Dr. _________, and I am a ____*credentials*________________ (EXAMPLE: professor of neurology and Chairman Emeritus of the Department of Neurology at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona, board member of the American Academy of Neurology).
As an FAA Aviation Medical Examiner (AME), I am very familiar with the history of pilot age in aviation medicine and the transition from no age, to 60, to 65, as well as the current effort to change the law today, and raise the age above 65.
Recently, the US Senate and House considered the Let Experienced Pilots Fly Act of 2023, S. 893 and H.R. 1761 and I would like this letter to be considered in any discussions on any legislation that may be presented in the near future, hopefully, in the interest of Safety for all, because Experience Matters!
Raising the Commercial Pilot retirement age will immediately allow highly experienced pilots to remain at work, while allowing the lesser experienced pilots to gain more experience, through mentoring. Judgement is invaluable to a flight crew and judgement is only developed over many years as a co-pilot, being mentored by experienced captains.
I concur with medical and scientific researchers that say a clear relationship between incapacitation and age cannot be established because individuals age differently and group averages are poor predictors of individual health and performance. I also agree with other medical experts that support using evidence-based assessments to evaluate pilots’ medical fitness and competence to fly on an individual basis rather than an arbitrary age limit.
In 2007, Congress raised the age limit for pilots from age 60 to 65, in line with ICAOs recommendation. Since that date there are now 10 countries that allow commercial pilots to fly past age 65. Some of these countries have no upper age limit. The time period since raising the age limit has been the safest in aviation history, largely because pilots undergo a more frequent and higher level of testing than any other high-stakes professions.
The fact is that medical and technological advances have made it easier to detect and treat health conditions at early stages, greatly reducing the risk that pilots will experience an event that compromises safety of flight. This is evidenced by the low number of temporary pilot groundings. The incidence of permanent disqualification is even lower, occurring in less than 1% of all cases that are deferred for further evaluation.
The age limit for commercial pilots was enacted more than 60 years ago and was based on the “premise” that health conditions tend to increase with age and can lead to pilot incapacitation during flight. At the time, information about pilot incapacitations was limited.
However, we now understand the odds of a pilot incapacitation is very low and the level of associated risk is minimal. In fact, the incidence of a pilot incapacitation is extremely rare, occurring less than 0.45 times per 1,000,000 flight hours. The majority of pilot incapacitations cannot be prevented by an age limit because they are caused primarily by conditions of gastroenteritis (food poisoning), laser strikes to a pilot’s eyes inflight, headaches, and lastly sinus problems all of which have zero correlation to a pilot’s age.
In addition to undergoing FAA First-Class Medical’s every six months, yearly EKGs, yearly simulator training, as well as quarterly online refresher courses, pilots undergo a very detailed and extensive training protocol designed and approved by the FAA. Airline and FAA random flight checks are performed on all pilots and there isn’t any consideration of age. One either passes or is removed from flight duties, regardless of age.
These numerous assessments provide an evidence-based measure of a pilot’s decision-making skills, reaction times, communication abilities to lead and perform and of course, one’s overall performance.
Since 2007, we now have a “living” case study of some 17 years. The FAA, NTSB, and ICAO can provide data showing that no commercial air carrier accidents have been attributed to a pilot’s age.
Last year ICAO began their efforts towards raising or eliminating the age, with their Working Paper-106 (WP106) which was sent to all countries in consideration of “raising” the present commercial pilot age.
A pilot’s ability to fly should be based on the assessment of an individual pilot’s health and competency, not their age. I urge all to support any legislation that will allow pilots the legal right to fly past age 65. In any profession, Experience Matters!
Sincerely,
Dr. __________, MD
Aviation Medical Examiner, FAA