Originally Posted by
Papa Lazarou
I was arrested in 2005 for a stupid Class C Misdemeanor for peeing in public. I was booked downtown and charged. The next day with the local judge I put in a plea of no contest and paid a fine and completed six hours of community service which satisfied the requirments for the case to be dismissed.
In 2008 had the case expunged by lawyer.
Since then I have checked my Texas DPS record by fingerprinting and that came back as "No arrest record".
I have also done the FBI Background Check with fingerprints and that came back as "No Arrest Record - FBI".
I have looked through my Expunction documentation and it states that when you have expunged your record "under Texas law you you may deny the occurrence of the arrest and the existence of the expunction order unless you are questioning under oath in a criminal proceeding"
So my question is should I include this on airline applications if I have the right to deny it ever happened?
Thanks for your help.
Airlines are located in different states, so it might depend on what state you were interviewing in.
You might have the right to deny it, but if the information comes to light somehow (TSA/FBI or company background check) they might simply not hire you (no explanation is ever given). Or they might still fire you after you start training...some airlines will cheerfully fight a lawsuit just so they can do things their way. Also juries are notorious for finding in favor of airlines when it comes to pilot hiring decisions...actions which a regular company could never get away with. I think juries tend to have a hysterical reaction toward perceived flight safety concerns. Aunt Agatha would never want a CRIMINAL to be her pilot on the flight to Podunk Falls.
This incident is pretty low key...it's a "youthful indiscretion" not a "crime". Assuming you were fairly young (under 30) it should not be a barrier to employment if you accept responsibility and state that you will not do anything like that again. Believe, you are not the first pilot who has had an issue like this...they are hiring pilots, not pastors. But if you were over 30, they will probably assume you're an alcoholic.
My advice would just be to admit it. But if you'd rather not I suggest you find an attorney who is familiar with aviation employment issues and get professional advice. A regular employment law attorney will not be familiar with the special rules for airlines.