Originally Posted by rickair7777

No need to volunteer the info, and the federal background check for airline workers only considers convictions, not arrests.

However, depending on the state and the airline you interview with they might ask if you have ever been arrested. Be honest if they ask, because they might be able to find it through private background checks or federal records.

Normally I would advise people to take full responsibility for their actions and explain what they learned without blaming someone else. When confronted with a record, employers have no way of knowing the real circumstances, so they must assume you are 100% guilty...therefore you need show that your attitude has been adjusted. Blaming others indicates the contrary.

Since it was a citizen's arrest and it was thrown out, the legitimacy of the event is doubtful to begin with. I suspect you could probably explain it away as a misunderstanding...but only you can make this call based on your knowledge of the situation.

I actually had something like this happen as a teenager. The local FBI agent (the only one in our small town) thought he heard someone on his rear deck late at night. The guy jumped into his car and drove around the neighborhood until he saw three teenagers walking down the street...and promptly arrested us at gunpoint. The local cops took over and told us that the guy was a known head case, and nothing ever came of it.