What BALPA said to PAS:
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Single Crew engaged in commercial air transport operations over the Age of 60, BALPA has been asked by Members to challenge this position.
The maximum age limit for the Captain of a multi pilot commercial air transport operations, is, with certain restrictions 65 years, this has been the position in the UK for the last 20 years and it is a position that has now been adopted worldwide via an ICAO SARP. The age limit for single crew commercial air transport operation carrying passengers has remained as age 60.
The current CAA definition makes it clear that winchmen, police observers, paramedics etc. are considered as equivalent to public transport passengers.
Thus single crew helicopter pilots engaged in police, rescue or pipeline observation duties can not be employed beyond the age of 60, in spite of Age Discrimination Legislation now being in place.
Do we wish to challenge this? The Police Air Services CC has asked BALPA to support a 60+ work campaign, the British Helicopter Advisory Board are keen to support the same issue.
At a practical licensing level, it is only flying within the UK which is being considered with ICAO SARPs thus not being relevant and the UK ANO may well be capable of amendment at the present time. However on the adoption by EASA of competency in the fields of operations and licensing, in perhaps eighteen months time, it is unlikely that a dispensation from EASA rules would then be permitted.
We anticipate that EASA will adopt JAR OPS, therefore it is relevant to this debate to examine JAR OPS 1.040 which states;
JAR-OPS 1.040 Additional crew members.
An operator shall ensure that crew members who are not required flight or cabin crew members. have also been trained in. and are proficient to perform. their assigned duties.
It seems clear that JAA recognises a category of crew which is neither flight crew nor cabin crew and could perhaps be winchmen, observers etc. If these categories could be reclassified in the view of the CAA as crew rather than passengers, then pilots could continue in employment as single crew beyond the age of 60.
But should these people, some of them BALPA members, be required to accept an increased risk in their employment with an age 60-65 single pilot? They already do accept an increased risk with a less than 60 year old single pilot in comparison with a multi pilot public transport flight. The additional risk is perhaps not large, may indeed have reduced in recent decades and perhaps could be mitigated further by additional medical surveillance as is already the case for Class 1 certificate holders over the age of 70. However there have been two recent fatal accidents involving single crew public transport flights and the risks due to disorientation of a single pilot must be recognised.
Ifalpa policy regarding age 60 remains delicately balanced with the latest statement emphasising that pilots should have access to a full pension at age 60 and leaving the retirement age more open than was previously the case.
Recent acceptance of age 65 by US ALPA suggests that Ifalpa policy may change.
Our own BALPA policy supports universal multi crew operations on a flight safety basis and of course such multi crew public transport helicopter operation continues in the North Sea oilfields.
MINIMUM CREW OF TWO PILOTS
That the policy of the Association be to obtain by all possible means the necessary change in legislation to enforce the requirement that a minimum of two pilots holding current Commercial Licences and Instrument Ratings and qualified on the type should be carried on all fights under IFR and at night on public transport aircraft, including those certificated for single pilot operation.
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The June 07 NEC AGREED that this request from the Flight Safety Group "to decline to challenge the ban on over 60 single crew commercial helicopter flying" would be supported.
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