To whom it may concern my name is Tom. A little about myself, I am an Air Force Veteran with no flight experience. I did security and Law Enforcement in the military and eventually left the service with a honorable discharge and became a Police Officer. As of now I am 27 and considering becoming a commercial pilot. Last year I was arrested for DWI. After about two months the charges were dropped and expunged for several reasons. I have documentation that the arrest should have never occurred and it’s been a nightmare and a blessing in several ways. Today I do not drink and I am in a great head space. I believe I can complete flight school and i’m confident in my abilities. Question one do I have to mention the arrest on the FAA Medical Certificate even if it was expunged and will I be able to get past the medical evaluation with a DWI arrest ? Second question, if I do complete flight school is there any hope of myself getting a job ? Essentially, before I start this journey I want to know if I would be setting myself up for failure to start. Thank you for reading my post and I appreciate any advice.
The question on the FAA application is “have you ever been arrested?” and you have so the answer is obvious. The FAA will do their own investigation and make a determination based on that.
As for getting hired the key is remaining squeaky clean and putting some time between yourself and the arrest.
I’ve been on this forum for a few months and this has to be almost as common of a question as the age question.
To the FAA, there’s no such thing as dismissed, expunged, sealed, flew away on the magic carpet, etc. Theyre the feds and they see it all and know it all.
They also won’t care about the legality of your arrest. Whether entrapment, cop running your plates without probable cause, DWB in a rich white neighborhood, it doesnt matter to them. All they will see is you driving under the influence, no matter how illegal the traffic stop and the arrest were. Pretty much if youve ever heard “youre under arrest” and got handcuffed, no matter what happens after, you will have to answer “yes”, your medical will get deferred and you will have to jump thru all kinds of hoops to get it
As the guys said, you’re going to have to answer yes on the application. You might as well get used to talking about it whenever asked because there is no such thing as expunged in the eyes of the FAA.
The most important thing between the event and you moving forward is time. Since it was only last year, you will probably have to go through the HIMS program to even have a chance at getting a medical. Best get that process started as soon as you can. If you get a medical, then you can start asking recruiters about your circumstances and getting hired. Most airlines like to see 10 years of a clean record since any event.
Hey Tom, Roman, let me offer a little different take on Roman’s commentary. The Aviation community by it’s nature is built on integrity. We are privileged to do things most people are not able to do. With that comes a big responsibility of self awareness and holding ourselves accountable. This shows it’s face in countless ways through our flying experience. It starts with the Med Application. Many things can be a disqualifier, so integrity begins early. We can lie or conveniently forget to get that medical in hand, but the consequences are intentionally severe to demonstrate the seriousness of what we do. You as pilot are tasked with safety of your passengers, you are not just risking your life but also those in your charge and those on the ground. During your journey you will be tempted in many different and sometimes subtle ways. Paperwork, Pre-Flights, Weather, Weights and Balance, Your Fitness To Fly etc. etc. etc. In most cases, you get away with it, when you don’t, we read about you in the NTSB Report. Once you start down the slope, it is easy for momentum to take over. Tom - best advice, own everything, in almost all cases you will be given a chance to explain, no harm no foul. Get caught cheating(lying) and your integrity is in question. It has to be this way because in so many instances, no one is looking over your shoulder but you. I hope the Mentors don’t mind my excessive use of keystrokes but I think this issue kind of sets Pilots apart from the general population. We are a community of individuals who want more, challenge ourselves and each other and as Adam has mentioned so many times, care who we share a cockpit with. Friendly Skies - Ed
First off thank you to everyone who offered some advice. By no means was I trying to hide my past mistakes. I just wasn’t sure of the wording on the FAA Medical documentation and whether it being expunged would change the dynamic of the question. Does anyone know where or how I could get in touch with recruiters to get some advice on whether I would even be able to find a job if I completed school? My big fear is completing the program and not being able to get a job. In addition, I do realize I would have to complete the medical documentation to even be considered. However, I would still like to speak with a recruiter before I begin investing all this time. Again thank you to everyone for the advice.
I emailed the recruiting department at every regional in the US giving a quick outline of my issues and asking “do I have a chance to get hired?” before I went for a consult with my AME and kicked off the HIMS process. I got a response from 2 of them. One was a generic “get your certs and hours, apply and we’ll see what happens” and the other was a more personal response saying that nothing about my issue sounds like an immediate disqualifier and
promising a phone interview once I met hiring minimums but nothing more than that.
Recruiting dept emails are readily available on every airline website
Thanks for sharing your responses and taking the time to reach out to recruiters, which was recommended early on. Hopefully those that come across the thread can see that even from a recruiters’ standpoint, keeping a clean slate, doing well in training and having a clean performance hereafter will have a helping hand in possibility of being hired.
