Quick brief of myself… I am a 35 year old who is about to start my PPL. I have recently submitted a Medxpress app for a First Class Medical and have already gone to the AME. Due to a controllable medical condition, my medical had to be deferred. (AME said my medical will be approved but this was just protocol… because of the condition I have, it requires more paperwork from another doctor to prove I am fit to fly.)
The issue I have, is on the criminal history section of the app when it asks for any misdemeanor convictions, I put that I had a “Retail Theft under $5” charge. This charge/conviction was from 2008, 15 years ago, I was a dumb 19 year old who regrettably put a bag of candy in my pocket on my way out of the grocery store. A couple weeks now into waiting for the FAA to review, and I realized I also have a “Failure to Appear” that was from the same retail theft charge, because I missed my court date. For some reason I didn’t think of this at all when I was filling in my application. I thought maybe I could rescind my app and re-due it so I can add the Failure to Appear in there… but I don’t have an option in my login to do that. I am very concerned that I did not add it to my app as I want to be as open and honest with them as possible. I don’t want to get bad news down the road after my 1500 hrs and a full degree.
ANY personal knowledge or advice for this situation would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you, will do! Do you think these 2 convictions will be an issue for me with a pilot career? Like previously stated… I was young and did a really dumb thing. I have done a lot of research on this and it seems that all the backgrounds go back 10 years. Given that these 2 convictions are over 15 years old, how will that affect my background checks and me being hired to regionals? I will be forthcoming about them either way.
The length of the background check really does not matter. The airlines, and the FAA, ask “have you ever…” You need to answer these questions truthfully, failure to do so can result in termination from an employer.
It sounds like you have a good attitude and have accepted responsibility for what you did. If this is the case, and you keep a perfectly clean record moving forward, you should be fine.
Seems to me you need to speak with an Aviation Medical Examiner. Be honest when answering your Form 8500-8 when applying for your medical and if you get deferred to OKC, just be ready to answer further questions.
Given the timeframe and if you have not commitment any other offenses, to me, seems like a good chance.