Help. Multiple Checkride Failures
 

Hey, All.

I’m having issues. I did most of my training at ATP and was going through a lot of personal stuff during that time. My dad was diagnosed with cancer and I was involved in a major car wreck. Excuses aside, I failed 5 checkrides throughout my training.

I’ve recently hit my 1500 hours and have found it incredibly difficult to get a 121 job. If my application doesn’t get rejected, I do in the interview. 5 failures is a lot. Above average. Most fail 2. This is not a reflection of the pilot that I am today. It’s been 3 years since my last failure, but still an issue.

I suppose I am here out of desperation. I need advice because the rejections are hitting me hard and I don’t know how to move on from here. Being an instructor is great, but it takes a toll on me and I’m at the end of my rope.

If you have any positive suggestions, it would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.

The implication here is that you have failed every, or nearly every, check ride that you’ve ever taken at least once.

In my opinion, you won’t find a 121 carrier that you want to work for that wants to touch you. My suggestion if you’re serious about the career is start your own .. become THE BEST CFI that you can be, specialize in high performance or turbine aircraft, etc. Or, buy your own airplane and start a 135 Certificate. I think you’ll really struggle to find anyone reputable who wants to touch a pilot with five busts.

The problem is the liability factor. Imagine if you were involved in an accident/incident at an airline. When the public finds out that a pilot who had failed several checkrides was at the controls...well you see where I'm going. It would be a PR disaster.

My advice would be to find another job in aviation and/or continue to fly on the side or flight instruct. Make connections and maybe work your way into a charter/corporate gig. Keep going from there. Don't give up if this is your dream but also temper your expectations.

Good luck!

I disagree. You still have a chance. You may have to go to a 135 operator and get a type under your belt and do NOT fark this one up whatsoever. Get a good four or five years of 135 under your belt and then try for 121 and even then it may mean MESA. But you can recover.

Flying 135 sounds like good advice but certainly have trepidation about giving advice to someone who has failed 5 checkrides. At 1500 hours total time, sounds like fundamental issues of not mastering the basics. Don't want to see you get killed or heaven forbid, kill someone else! This profession isn't some video game where you can hit the reset button. I would consider 135 as a SIC if available to get some experience or even simulator instructor. In addition, approach an interview like a checkride with plenty of preparation!

Apply to every regional you can. I bet you get more than 1 offer.

You need to do some careful introspection. If you truly failed those rides because of personal circumstances, then there might be a way ahead.

If you failed because of poor work ethic, that can be fixed, but you probably need to over come lifelong bad habits.

If those failures represent poor aptitude, you probably need a different career.

The way ahead....

First off, it is essentially not conceivable that you would ever be hired by a legacy, SWA, FDX, UPS. Probably not by any second tier majors either. The best you'll do is a regional or ULCC. Might the pilot shortage improve your prospects? Maybe but I wouldn't bet your career on it.

Check ride failures never go away, and they are a huge screening factor. Kind of like herpes.

Keep trying to get on with any regional. In the meantime, try to get some turbine job, preferably 135. If you can accumulate several type ratings (at a couple different employers) and about 5k with ZERO training issues and no incidents or violations then you should be able to get a regional job. After several thousand trouble free hours as a regional PIC, you might be able to get a low-tier major job.

But you'll be on double secret probation until you reach your career destination airline, whatever that is. One hiccup and you'd be done I suspect.

Other option is part 91... that tends to be more personality driven, and there will be a pilot shortage in corporate & private aviation due to airline hiring for the next 20 years or so.

You’ll need to get into 135 on personal recommendations.
Although you can fail every ride as nobody is ever perfect, 5 fails is a lot.
Are you an MEI? If not, get it.
You check Instructor or asst Chief?
If not apply. Get on the FAA Safety team or whatever it’s called right now.
Join the Civil Air Patrol and network network network.
Get a job on merit and not background and keep your nose clean.
It’s not a question if you can or cannot do the job.

Here’s the difference between military schools and civilians ones. You wouldn’t get to five busts before getting a ticket home. If you had those personal problems, STOP training. That might well have been offered, certainly has at some military programs, but you should never have allowed it to progress that far and the school shouldn’t have, either.

Those failures won’t go away in the PRIA world. First, figure out why you failed; that means being real hard on yourself. Then, you’ll need years of professional flying, of any sort that will hire you, to maybe reach a regional or 135 job.

GF