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NETJETS’ Part 91 Subpart K Age 70 change should provide Dr. Northrup invaluable proof. 

2 senior pilots in the cockpit

NETJETS, which operates more than 750 aircraft (#5 among US airlines), has installed a rule allowing its pilots who fly under 14 CFP Part 91 Subpart K , [fractional ownership] to continue to use their experience and judgment until they reach their 70th birthday. The article below reports on the company’s decision and NetJets Association of Shared Aircraft Pilots (NJASAP)’s unsuccessful opposition.   

The implementation of this legal change may permit the FAA Federal Air Surgeon to test the health impact of this much disputed +3 years of eligibility and Susan E. Northrup, M.D., MPH, Office of Aerospace Medicine. Ms. Northrup is highly qualified [SEE APPENDIX A below] to design a methodology to test these pilots and, IF ALLOWED, to settle this dispute. 

This development provides an excellent opportunity to assess one of labor’s constant attacks—that pilots that age pose a risk to safety.   

Here is a brief review of that critique: 

  • ALPA, the Air Line Pilots Association, OPPOSES any effort to raise FAA’s regulatory mandated retirement age for professional airline pilots (ATP). In May 2023, the union adopted a resolution against any attempts (regulatory or statutory) to increase the upper age.  ALPA asserted that allowing more seasoned cockpit crew would introduce unnecessary risks to passengers. Its web statement elucidates its opinion: 

Myth: There are no added risks to allowing pilots to fly past age 65. 

Fact: There are no scientific or safety studies demonstrating this assertion. Unilaterally raising the airline pilot retirement age from 65 to 67, WITHOUT SCIENTIFIC STUDY OR SAFETY RESEARCH, would introduce more risk, or at a minimum a new and unknown risk, into our aviation system, likely accompanied by disruption to airline operations, additional flight delays and cancellations, and increased ticket prices for passengers. 

[More of the ALPA objection] 

Real experience, properly recorded, provides scientific data that far exceeds the products of any simulation. ALPA insists that scientific or safety studies are a prerequisite to moving the age limit to 70. NETJET pilots, ages 67-70, will measure that risk. Most importantly, Dr. Northrup holds both an MD and an MPH as such she can define the precise meters of that risk. Given ALPA’s ill-defined, but vehement concerns, it would be wise for the Office of Aerospace Medicine to monitor the pilots through a scientifically designed set of health criteria. 

This statutorily permitted age limit change may provide the relevant evidence on which to build a science-based rule. 

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NetJets Implements Mandatory Age-70 Pilot Retirement 

Cap took effect on January 10, and NetJets had notified pilots a year ago NetJets pilots 

© NetJetsBy MATT THURBER • Editor-in-Chief 

January 12, 2024 

NETJETS has elected to ADOPT AN AGE-70 LIMIT for its fractional-share (Part 91K) pilots and has removed these older crewmembers from its schedule, according to a note from the NetJets Association of Shared Aircraft Pilots (NJASAP) legal department. The move affects fewer than 100 pilots, and they were no longer on the NetJets schedule as of January 10, according to a lawsuit filed by a group of pilots seeking to overturn the age cap

NetJets gave notice to its pilots and NJASAP on Jan. 10, 2023, that it intended to implement the age-70 limit. That notification came after Congress’ omnibus spending bill was adopted in December 2022. 

The bill included language that allows Part 91K and 135 operators that logged at least 75,000 annual jet operations in 2019 or any subsequent year to implement an age-70 ceiling. This is not mandatory for these operators, but once they elect to adopt the age ceiling, it becomes permanent and they can’t reverse the decision

According to the notice to members from NJASAP’s legal team, an arbitrator recently issued a draft decision regarding a grievance that the union had filed after NetJets notified pilots of the age cap. NetJets denied the original grievance, and NJASAP and NetJets agreed to arbitration. The arbitrator’s decision was to deny the grievance, with no finding of any violation in implementing the age-70 retirement ceiling, according to the notice. In fact, NJASAP supported the age cap when it first was proposed in 2018. 

The eight NetJets pilots who filed the lawsuit against NetJets were seeking “a preliminary injunction to keep the age cap from taking effect Jan. 10, 2024,” according to the lawsuit. HOWEVER, the U.S. District Court Northern District of Texas Dallas Division rejected their arguments and denied the motion for a preliminary injunction. 

“Because the court concludes that the pilots failed to establish that any of their claims is likely to succeed on the merits, and this case does not warrant the exceptionally rare preliminary injunction under the [Railway Labor Act], the court denies the motion for preliminary injunction.” 



APPENDIX A 

Dr. Susan E. Northrup was recently appointed[1] U.S. Federal Air Surgeon at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), where she will oversee the agency’s medical initiatives and aeromedical education programs.  Northrup succeeds Dr. Michael Berry,MD, MS who held the role since January 2017.  

Northrup is the first female to be selected for the position and will oversee airman medical certification, air traffic control specialist medical qualification policy, medical decision-making policy, aeromedical education programs, medical appeals, medical and human factors research, drug and alcohol testing programs, and aircraft accident investigations involving medical factors.  

Northrup most recently served as acting deputy federal air surgeon, where she led FAA efforts to develop contingency plans to maintain continuity of operations at air traffic control facilities impacted by COVID-19. She currently chairs an International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) working group on international entry testing and vaccination documentation, and also serves on ICAO’s Collaborative Arrangement for the Prevention and Management of Public Health Events in Civil Aviation group. 

Dr. Northrup is a senior FAA aviation medical examiner. She is a past President of the American Society of Aerospace Medicine Specialists and the Civil Aviation Medical Association. She also was vice-president for the Aerospace Medicine Association. Dr. Northrup spent nine years (2007-2016) as a trustee for the American Board of Preventive Medicine. She is on the adjunct faculty for the USAF School of Aerospace Medicine and is a Fellow of the Aerospace Medicine Association. 

A private pilot and aircraft owner, Northrup previously served as the FAA’s former senior regional flight surgeon for the Southern Region. She is also a retired U.S. Air Force colonel and was deployed as part of Operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield and served as the U.S. head of delegation at the NATO Aeromedical Working Group. 

She later served as commander of the 94th Aeromedical Staging Squadron at Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Georgia from February 2009 through November 2010. Prior to that, Northrup served as medical consultant for the National Pilots Association and regional medical director for Air Crew and Passenger Health Services for Delta Air Lines

Northrup graduated from Ohio State University in 1985 with a B.A. in chemistry and received her M.D. degree in 1989. She went on to earn a Master of Public Health degree in 1994 from the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston, after which she served a residency in occupational medicine at the USAF School of Aerospace Medicine at Brooks Air Force Base in Texas 

Dr. Northrup’s military career was exemplary demonstrated by her recognitions: FAA Flight Surgeon of the Year, TAC Flight Surgeon of the Year, and the recipient of the Air Force Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters

[1] Contrary to one report. Dr. Northrup was not a political appointee. The Flight Air Surgeon is a career position. 

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Sandy Murdock

Sandy Murdock

Head writer, Sandy Murdock, was former FAA Chief Counsel and FAA Deputy Administrator. Also NBAA’s former Sr. VP Administration and General Counsel.

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