Parabellum and all,
As somebody who has been at this long enough to earn certification in three different countries and eight type ratings, a couple of degrees, teach some abinitio stuff and aerobatics on the side in tailwheel stuff...yep, there's a certain degree of injustice to any type of mandatory retirement age at all, but it needs to adhered to at 63 and not allowed to creep up. Here's why.
The flying although more mundane, is longer haul, with shorter rest provisions than ever before.
The processed food we are eating combined with our sedentary occupations and pastimes as a culture is contributing to a new generation of aircrew and for that matter, a general population, who will not live as long a life expectancy of those that came before. As far as historians can gather, this is the first time this has happened in the evolution of modern man.
Our governments are going to be even LESS likely to care for their elderly in the FUTURE than they are now. For a man or woman in their 30's it is even more imperative that they contribute to savings for retirement than ever before.
Our opinions of how we flew as first officers are much higher than our captains had of us at that same time...they just didn't have the internet to share their lack of trust in our ability under a pseudonym.
Retirement is there for a reason. Incapacitation IS rising with senior crew members making their final flight west...with 200 plus souls on board with the falsified promise of a safe flight with a complete crew at the controls at the destination.
This madness HAS to stop!!!
63 is almost TOO old as it is!!!
Don't even get me started on that P-51 crash in Reno!!