Originally Posted by
Cubdriver
I think we are due for a proverbial pendulum swing in the direction of pilot rights and this would be a key area to look at. Industry may even want such a reform because it could widen the eligible pilot pool by removing irrelevant, stale misdeeds from peoples' past and supply a set of standards for morally-supportable pilot eligibility.
Industry is 100% in control of these standards, they can hire (or not) anyone they like who has a medical and pilot cert..
The FAA almost never grounds a pilot for moral character, only substance-related issues.
The problem is companies take the easy (cheap) way out...where there's enough smoke, they just assume fire and move onto the next applicant rather than try to delve into the details. Admittedly it can be difficult to get to the bottom of many situations...especially since the real bad apples will almost certainly lie and prevaricate.