spladle29

I am wondering if my record would ruin my chances of being hired by a major in the future. I have been doing a lot of research and considering a career in aviation and this has me nervous. Here is what is on my record.
Age 16 - fail to obey stop sign
Age 17 - speeding 6-10mph over
Age 18 - *dismissed* attempted burglary charge (serious misdemeanor)
Age 20 - possession of alcohol under the legal age

None of these have came up in prior job interviews and I've only been asked about convictions so didn't have to mention the dismissed attempted burglary charge. However from what I have read the airline industry is extremely diligent and unforgiving about things on a pilot's record so I am worried about that dismissed charge. I am 24 now. Thanks for the input!

WhisperJet

Your record shows a disturbing pattern of unlawful behavior in the not-so-distant past. You MIGHT be ok for a lower tier regional in about 5 years or so with no more legal issues. Then you would need another solid 5-10 years at least with absolutely ZERO infractions not even a parking ticket and a squeaky clean training/flying record.

Good luck.

rickair7777

# 1,2, and 4 are pretty typical youthful shenanigans, and would not hurt you if you keep a clean record in the years leading up to major airline interviews (regionals won't care).

#3 is whole 'nother issue. Lucky for you, while FAA requires that you report arrests for DUI-like events, they only ask for convictions for other crimes. If it was dismissed, you have no issues with the FAA (if it was a conviction, they might well deny your medical on mental health/anti-social behavior grounds).

Airlines used to ask about arrests, but employment law in most states has limited them to asking only about convictions. So unless they can somehow learn of the arrest (news media or social media?), you're probably OK.

But with that said... WTF Over? The kinds of attitude and behavior that leads one to get arrested for burglary is about away from the expected norms of a professional pilot as you can get. I sure hope you learned your lesson and performed a major attitude adjustment, otherwise I would not want you in my cockpit. Think carefully before you pursue aviation, if you exhibit anti-social attitudes/behavior the system will preclude you from any of the best jobs.

spladle29

I know, it looks and sounds terrible - so much worse than it actually was. To sum up the situation, I was a senior in high school in a car with some buddies and we ran out of gas. None of us had any money, so we had to park and wait for someone to come lend us a hand. We were about 45 minutes from our hometown, and it was hot out. Instead of sit in this packed car, me and another kid I was with got out and started walking to a mall that was about a block away. We took a shortcut through a parking lot to avoid a busy street, and next thing I knew (this was completely unexpected, and I had never been in a situation like this before) the kid I was with tried to open a car door and scrap change out of cupholders to get enough gas money to get us home. I kind of panicked and didn't know what to do, I stayed distant from him and did not touch anything but I did stay in the parking lot. Someone saw us and called police saying 2 kids were stealing out of cars. Cops came and arrested us. I never had to go to court, they reviewed surveillance tapes and pulled fingerprints from the car doors, and clearly found that I was not involved and the case was dismissed. But my record will forever have an attempted burglary charge on it, even if it is dismissed.

Otterbox

Some of the applications still ask about “arrests” in addition to “convictions”. When you encounter some, answer honestly. Have ALL of the paperwork ready for your criminal charge dispositions to be presented at your interview.

The #3/#4 combo could raise some eyebrows to folks.

Your best bet will be to get a job with one of the AA Wholly Owned regionals so you’ve got a flow to a legacy in your back pocket. Keep your nose clean, don’t fail any checkrides/orals (more than 2 and it’s tough to legitimize hiring you) and find someone who works at the WO you’re targeting to write you a referral for you...

TiredSoul

Do not even get a speeding ticket and do NOT fail a checkride. Like ever.
You need to wise up fast.
Unfortunately the Teterboro Learjet crash showed both the Captain and the FO with a less then squeaky clean record. Both had checkride busts and run ins with the law.
Whether it did or did not even remotely influence the outcome of the flight? Who knows, but it came up during the investigation and is a matter of record.
Airlines can simply not hire a (perceived) liability.
Lawyers will take ‘em to the cleaners in case of an incident or accident.

News Headline:
Airline flight 123 ran off the runway at airport X due to ice and the FO was found to have been arrested 4 times.

You see how that reads?
Even with the cause in the headline the general public will only see the “other” news.
How would you feel if you find out the kindergarten teacher you like and talks sports with has been arrested 4 times?
Is it relevant to you if that was for something unrelated to being a kindergarten teacher?

And as far as your explanation? You could have stopped your buddy but you didn’t. Instead you were the lookout. That’s how it reads bud....sorry.

JohnBurke

It didn't sound worse until you tried to dismiss it by explaining it, and now it sounds worse.

It also sounds like you have no idea what you're talking about (which is the "worse" part).

The case was dismissed, yet you have an "attempted burglary charge" on your record? Do you not understand that you're saying two different, opposite things?

You understand that opening the car door and taking change was burglary? Your story puts you at the scene and puts you in a position of being party to a crime, and doing nothing to prevent it. Perhaps even benefitting from the crime. You'd have been better off simply saying you were in the area, it was investigated, and the matter dropped. Simple. It only got worse when you tried to explain it. Don't.

People are their own worst enemy, especially in legal matters. Never pass up a perfectly good opportunity to shut up.

Don't volunteer ****.

nukem

Could you explain why you say this?

WhisperJet

Because when a case gets dismissed the charge disappears. When you go to court for a speeding ticket and the cop doesn't show, it's like you never got the ticket.

nukem

I had to investigate this a little. Information kept in a criminal record is jurisdiction dependent. In many jurisdictions even dismissed charges remain on record.
I disagree with this practice. But unfortunately even mistakes by the authorities can follow a person indefinitely.