Brown, who has logged 150 hours of flight time since he got his pilot's license 1 1/2 years ago, got the nod over his companion.
"When I sat in the right seat, the captain looked at me and asked, 'When was the last time you flew?' '' he said. "I told him last week and he said, 'Good, you're current.'
Certainly having a knowledgeable pilot acting as an emergency co-pilot made the captain a lot more comfortable about the task in front of him.
I've flown as a passenger a couple of times on a private corporation twin engine prop aircraft with a pilot who was past retirement age (65). I wondered what would happen if something happened to him in flight and none of us know how to pilot a plane. BTW, is there a federal age maximum (70 or so) beyond which you can not pilot a plane?
No. BUT, this excerpt is from the AOPA (Aircraft Owners And Pilots) website...
Unless you're an airline pilot, the FAA doesn't care about age, and airplanes don't either (airline pilots are required by law to retire at age 60, but there are no age restrictions on other types of flying). You can be a real duffer (we'll use 85 years old as the entry level to dufferdom) and the FAA medical examiner and the FAA won't bat an eye. Both the medical and actual flight instruction are demonstrated-ability situations: If you can pass the tests, you're in. If you can't, you're out, and that applies across the board regardless of age.
Airline pilots, BTW, are pushing to have the 60 year rule raised to 65. The guys and gals love to fly! My own father qualified as a Cessna Citation jet single pilot..... at 73!
Your 60+ y.o. corporate pilot flies under a commercial/charter provision of the FAA rules. And why not? How often have read about a case of the pilot having a 'medical problem' causing incapacitation such as posted on this thread?
Still, that's another reason why there are two licensed pilots (the co-pilot is fully licensed) up in that cockpit....