Leyonidas

So my friend was charged with a domestic violence misdemeanor when he was 19, but the conviction was set aside, is he still able to work as a pilot for an airline?

Jma313

Not sure. However every airline will ask him about crimes and convictions and it's better to be upfront about it rather than try and hide it. Better for them to just not hire you than force them into firing you when they find out..just my 2¢

prex8390

They usually ask if you ever been charged OR convicted of a crime. So even though he may have been found not guilty or whatever, you'll still need to fess up about it.

flightview

Was it a felony?

flightview

If he was charged with a felony that still needs to be disclosed. Is he able to obtain a 1st class medical would be my next question.

Leyonidas

No, as I said, it was a misdemeanor

Leyonidas

Yeah, he's in good physical shape to pass.

flightview

Oops sorry. Reading fail.

rickair7777

There's a a requirement for "Good Moral Character" for the ATP, and they normally seem to enforce that via the 1C medical application since once you hold an ATP there's no formal review of that going forward.

rickair7777

It can be a grey area with things like "set aside" diverted", "plea deal" as different jurisdictions have different methods of dealing with these things.

Several things to consider:

Medical: You may have to report it on your FAA medical application, but that asks for convictions so that could be a grey area depending on how the jurisdiction considers the adjudication. You probably need to ask a lawyer who specializes in aviation. Don't ask a non-aviation lawyer, normal employment law may not apply precisely to airlines due to federal oversight and laws. Don't lie (or even cross the grey area) with the FAA...you can go to jail.

SIDA: Google the requirements for SIDA access and determine if you need to wait ten years from conviction. Probably not IMO, but you may need to ask a lawyer since the disposition of the case was in the grey area.

Employers: Some airlines ask about arrests and/or diversions, others only ask about convictions. The general consensus is don't ever lie to an airline because if they find out you'll have lost your old job, your new job, and pretty much any future airline career prospects. Better to not get hired, still have your old job and the ability to apply to other employers. But again you should probably ask a lawyer about how to answer these questions.

The bad news...if airlines learn of this, they will be leery since violent crime is about as far away from what they want in their pilots as you can get.

The slight silver lining (very slight) is that many folks understand that domestic violence can often be a he said/she said kind of thing, and that such charges are often an intentional opening salvo of divorce tactics, ie fraudulent. So it's probably better than armed robbery.