Let Experienced Pilots Fly
NOTAM #9
“EXPERIENCE MATTERS”
Dear Colleagues,
➢ New LEPF Board member: On June 17, 2025 we held a meeting of our Board of Directors. We elected JetBlue Captain David Wilson as the ninth director of LEPF. Capt. Wilson brings to the board his experience as a military pilot with extensive safety work, experience in government affairs, as well as union representational experience. He is committed to working effectively to restore the rapid loss of experience in our profession and to strengthen the vital trust of our traveling public. Please welcome David to the LEPF Board.
➢ FAA Administrator Nominee: Recently, Mr. Bryan Bedford faced the Senate Commerce Committee confirmation hearing and his answers were focused on 1500 FOQ, FAA SMS, and bringing the NAS to the 21st century. (Click Here) for the full the video. As we previously reported, Mr. Bedford has called the pilot retirement age “arbitrary”. Mr. Bedford was approved by the Commerce Committee and now moves to the Senate for a full confirmation vote.
➢ ICAO Letter: Senator Marsha Blackburn has completed her bi-partisan letter to Secretary Duffy and State Department Secretary Rubio. We are working on gaining more bi-partisan support and the time has come for you to take a little bit of your valuable time to call your senators asking them to sign on to the Sen. Blackburn letter. A quick internet search of your US senators’ office phones or (Click Here) will give you the contact information. The message is simple: “I am a constituent of yours and am asking that you sign on to Sen. Blackburn’s letter to DOS and DOT Secretaries asking that the US take a stronger leadership role at ICAO, rather than allow China to lead in global aviation.” (IMPORTANT NOTE: This is NOT the proper call to mention raising the age! Please adhere to the script!)
➢ ICAO Assembly: This Fall (September) ICAO will host their 42nd Assembly in Montreal. LEPF sent a contingent of our volunteers to Montreal in August of 2023. LEPF was the first to engage ICAO, regarding the retirement age, and we continue to build on that effort, and remain engaged with IATA/ICAO to eliminate/raise the age. We are open to all collaboration with other industry organizations and stakeholders and will not be deterred by efforts counter to our mission.
➢ ICAO Ambassador: We continue to advocate to Sen. Blackburn, and others, the urgency of having an ICAO Ambassador in place prior to the September ICAO Assembly in Montreal.
➢ August C2A campaign: We are working on details and focusing on Democrat Senators during their recess in DC while they are in their home state offices. We will be asking them to support and sign on to Sen. Blackburn’s letter, as well as advocating to fill the ICAO Ambassador vacancy without delay.
➢ Future Events: We will host a DC Fly-in once the “Let Experienced Pilots Fly Act” bill is re-introduced. A C2A campaign will be in effect concurrently to bolster our DC visits. As previously mentioned in our NOTAMs, we continue to plan future events to engage directly with our supporters on the Hill, such as the Sen. Blackburn event.
➢ We need to add more FAA Flight Surgeons (AME) to our list of medical advocates writing a letter to congress, in support of eliminating/raising the age. WE ARE ASKING that you copy/print out the three (3) pre-addressed letters linked here: (AME LETTERS) for each of you to take to your AME and ask them to either fill in the blanks on these or develop one in his/her own words and return to you. Once you have them, please scan and email them to us at raisethepilotage@gmail.com or mail signed originals to: P. O. Box 1124 Pascagoula, MS 39568
➢ Please help us help you! Click on this link to contribute: raisethepilotage.com 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.
➢ INFO CARDS: If you are willing to place our LEPF Info Cards (with a QR code linking to our website) please (CLICK HERE) and we will send you some to keep with you. You can leave a few in any places you think we will gain exposure and potentially recruit new members.
➢ 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 Eliminating or Raising The Age.
We are doing what we have learned to do well, in our focused efforts with all industry stakeholders and US legislators, and we thank you for your donations, support, and your continued involvement in fighting this discrimination in our profession.
Experience Matters!
LEPF