Hello everyone. I just recently graduated college, where I received a misdemeanor for a noise violation. I am currently sitting at 1,250 hours of flight time and have been enlisted in the Air Force (no flight time with Military). I plan to apply mid July for the regionals. Will this affect me?
Thank you all
Carsen,
If this is your only offense you should be fine. Another raises concern, three shows a pattern.
Adam
Carsen,
If that is the only issue that you have, I would not worry about it too much. Just keep your record clean moving forward.
Chris
Yessir, that is the only thing ever. No speeding tickets or anything in that nature. My dad is a retired 330 Capt and he also said the same thing. It’s just nice to hear from other people in the industry.
Thank you again!
Not sure if I am wasting my time considering a change in career. I have been successful in business for last 17 years but considering a change. I got a DUI back in 2000 and have a handful of speeding tickets over the years. I have a degree in Marketing but have always had a passion to fly. I have even gone up a few times with an instructor but never really took the leap. I could pay for flight school up front and I even have a friend that is attending ATP. What are my chances of getting a job as a commercial pilot?
Ryan,
First and foremost this career holds no guarantees and the airlines don’t like DUIs. In the current environment we’re the industry is experience a pilot shortage, IF this is in fact your only serious offense AND what you call a “handful” isn’t really more than 3-4 I’d say your chances are good getting hired at a Regional. The caveat is the Majors are far from desperate so you might have problems moving on. Particularly if you continue to speed (aka disregard the law).
Adam
Thank you Adam for you quick and upfront reply.
Would it matter that I have only had one speeding ticket since 2011? Prior to that I had 3.
Ryan,
The more distance (time) you can put between you and your offenses the better.
Adam
Again thank you for your time. Does the investment in your education, both financially and time wise hold any bearing? I saw a mention of making sure you attend a reputable college helps with the majors. Wouldn’t someone investing the man hours and the financial investment in ATP help with over coming some of these poor judgements in your past? Again, I appreciate your time and consideration in advance to your reply. You all do an awesome job answering these questions and your commitment to the posts and assisting others goes above expectations of the most dedicated professional.
Ryan,
I think you have a very good chance. You just need to keep your record absolutely clean, to include speeding tickets moving forwards. As always though, I recommend that you contact the recruiting departments of several regional airlines and check directly with them.
Chris
Ryan,
All pilots have invested significant time and money into their educations.
Chris
Ryan,
You can’t change the past, but you can change the decisions you make moving forward. The more positive things you can do to offset the negative the better. Getting to the regionals shouldn’t be a problem. The majors is where you’ll meet resistance.
So, what are some things that you can do? The majors like to see turbine PIC time. So, upgrading is not negotiable. Of course, only upgrade if you feel like you should. Also, get involved in other ways, too. Work in the training department at some capacity, for example. Or be a union rep. Be a mentor. Be a recruiter. Volunteer at company events, etc.
Tory
Thank you Tory your post is very insightful!
Chris thank you as well, I understand all pilots have extensive cost and time that’s why I am surprised at the high washout rate.