Originally Posted by
Radial Song
As much as I'd like to agree with you, chances are that this little punk will have his private revoked. Then in year or two he'll retake the knowledge test, get his 3 hours of instruction, take his practical and get his private again. After 5 or 10 years, he would have learned his lesson and will likely be able to pursue a flying career and could end up at a regional or even a major. Who knows what the aviation landscape will be like by that time? After all, even majors have hired pilots with DUI's beyond 10 years prior....maybe even closer than that. If that doesn't happen, he could have a career with some scumbag freight outfit.
The difference is that, for as terrible as they are, DUI's are pretty common place, and most people that end up with them didn't blatantly set out with the intent of driving drunk.
Even with a shortage of pilots out there, I'd be surprised if this kid is able to land an airline job down the road. He's probably going to end up with one or more FELONY charges against him, not to mention a revocation, and faa actions. Not exactly what I would call "easy to explain away" in an interview- regardless of how much somebody "matures" over the years.
Look at it from an employer's standpoint- would you want to put yourself at risk (liability)? What happens if something were to ever go wrong after he's hired- the number of questions/lawsuits would be even more staggering than in today's tort happy environment.