rvrabel2002

Hey Guys,
Im currently in the process of applying to a major regional airline, and have alot of questions that I think the more experienced guys/gals an answer.

It all really boils down to my airline apps application and the questions they are asking. I seperate the questions by category, if you don't know the answer to a category, just answer whichever ones you can if you have time:

Addresses:

I, like many other pilots in my profession, have had numerous addresses in the past few years. I have bounced between Florida and New Jersey for the past 3 years, with NJ being my primary residence on my license, but I have been living permanently in FL since July or 2009.

The problem is I don't have a FL drivers license. The reason behind this is I need to be a permanent resident of NJ in order to be covered under my fathers health insurance policy.

So I guess the question is, If I list FL as my permanent residence on airline apps, but my license is from NJ, will this raise red flags to the airlines?

Drivers License:

I guess this kind of relates to the question above in a way. I had a speeding ticket 8 years ago, but cant remember the specific date that the infraction occured.

The other problem is, I cannot retrieve my driver history beyond 5 years, but since the infraction happened beyond then, does the specific date matter?

Employment:

This is a big one. For the past 10 years I have held numerous jobs. One job, for instance, involved me working out of several locations across the state, where I had several different office locations and different supervisors. Sometimes, I was only at a location for 2 or 3 months.

This was all under the same company though, so do i need to list every single location and supervisor?

FAA Actions:

I have had a completely clean record, passing every checkride for my ratings and part 135 checks.

However, I did get a warning letter from the FAA last year because of a problem I had with my former employer.

I cannot go into specific details with the forum, but my employer "threw me under the bus" by assigning me in an airplane that was apprarently grounded.

When I say he "threw me under the bus", this is an understatement. Even the FAA Investigator told me that my employer did me wrong in this instance.

I understand I was at fault, but I resigned from the company the following day due to safety concerns (rightfully so!).

My question here is, Do I blame the employer for his negligence, when he was clearly at fault, or do i just bite the bullet and say "Oh yeah, im such a crappy pilot that I felt I just couldnt work for him anymore"

Sorry for the loaded question, any help would be appreciated.

snippercr

No. Never at anytime blame anyone else but yourself - even if you were not at fault. I am not trying to be condescending, I am just saying what the interviewer wants to hear.

Take responsibility for it - admit it was your mistake and more importantly what you learned from it. A warning letter is just that, a warning. No action was taken. The interviewer will want to know what you learned. THEN you can bring in how you felt that the organization did not provide you the best information (do NOT bad mouth them!!) and you feel that a mistake that grave, not telling a pilot an airplane is grounded, is reason to separate yourself from the company.

For your floating job, did the name of the company atop your paycheck (or direct deposit slip) change at all? If not, they I would just list it as one company.

If you list your permanent address is NJ, why not use that? I too have been bouncing around places (all in same area) while at college and now my new job. I think list something that you feel you have and will be at for the longest.

rickair7777

I doubt they will even notice. Military guys do this all the time (it's legal for us). If they ask, I would probably just tell them about the medical insurance..I seriously doubt anyone would hold this against you. It's not like you are cheating on taxes...NJ taxes are higher than FL.

Just give them the approximate date (and tell them it is approximate!). That way if they do find it, they will be able to correlate it to the one you disclosed.


That might depend. Do all of your pay stubs show the same corporate address? Can you use one supervisor as a reference who will vouch for your employment for the entire period? If so you could probably just use the main address and mention in the notes that you performed temporary assignments in a variety of locations.

The key here in my mind would be your home address...if that changed with every job location then you probably need to list them all.

This is common for entry-level pilots...lots of jobs and addresses. If in doubt, list them all. It doesn't really hurt anything to take up space on the app, and you DEFINITELY don't want to omit something which might give the impression that you have something to hide.



This one is kind of tough.

Read the application questions very carefully. Do they specifically ask about warnings? If not, you may not need to disclose it on the app although it is likely to come up as an interview question.

If it needs to be addressed, you will need to take full responsibility and tell them what valuable lesson you learned.

Your situation is dangerous though, because telling the truth involves saying bad things about a previous employer. It is also complicated by the fact that you resigned...the combination of warning letter and resignation may lead an interviewer to suspect that you were allowed to resign instead of getting fired.

I assume you cannot rely on the employer for a good reference? That would actually help if he might be willing to do it.

In this case you probably need to tell the truth, but in a very short and succinct version. Basically take responsibility for the violation, but tell them that you had lost faith in the employer's commitment to safety and resigned for that reason. You can tell them the employer set you up for the violation but take responsibility for not catching the problem. Try really hard to avoid whining or blame shifting, and keep your explanation as short as possible.

I imagine Lori will have some thoughts on this too...

rvrabel2002

I completely agree with this. I do not want to bad mouth the employer, because i know they will perceive it as not taking responsibility.

Paycheck came from the same company, so i will just leave the same.

As far as permanent address though, the problem i have is bills and other things have been sent to numerous addresses over the years, and trying to pinpoint exact dates i was at specific addresses is next to impossible.

I think i may have found a solution though. I just got off the phone with my auto insurance company, and they provided me with a free service called lexis nexis which provides insurance, employment history, and residence history reports.

Great tool to use, just looked up my driver history and it only goes back 7 years though, and my violation was before that.

here is a link to anyone that might need this resource: https://personalreports.lexisnexis.com/index.jsp

Thanks for your help man.

rickair7777

Airlines may run your credit reports. Those will have all of your addresses used for various business purposes.

But if you report a job or long-term flight training program in FL, they may wonder why you list an address in NJ.

rvrabel2002

Yep, just ran my credit report. I have all my addresses on that file, but im unsure of the dates. I guess i will just list them to the best of my knowledge.

Lori Clark

Addresses: Can you narrow it down to the month? That would suffice. Part of the background check is based on counties where you previously lived - they get this information from several sources, one being your address list.

Driving record: What you're asking is a moral question - only you can answer whether or not you should disclose it if there is no paper trail. If this was your only speeding ticket, there really shouldn't be any problem.

Employment: Like Rick said, list the main corporate name and address. You can put in the description section that you worked in various locations.

Violation: I agree with what has been said here, with one exception. Do NOT, under any circumstances, bring up that the company "set you up" or talk ill of them in ANY fashion. This will be heard as an excuse for your behavior. Simply explain the facts of what happened and let the interviewers come to their own conclusions. Believe me, they will side with you IF you let them.

jelloy683

Question,
I had a letter of warning type deal that occurred 3 years ago. I have then since had a clean record, and the letter of warning was expunged. Do I still need to report that as a 'violation' on every application even though it does not show up on my record?

dojetdriver

A warning letter is not a violation, nor an accident/incident.

The applications I have filled out asked for both of the above.

They also asked if you are currently, or have you ever been under investigation by the FAA? Since usually in the process of a warning letter being issued, there is an investigation, check yes. Then there's always the field underneath to explain what happened.

Even though mine was years ago, I checked "yes" since I have been under investigation, then explained what happened. As well as the dates/outcome, etc.

Never been an issue. And when you get a TMAAT question in an interview, if you handle it like you should, the interviewer can check off a whole slew of boxes for the reasons they want to hire you.

Lori Clark

Sort of - to the FAA it is. LOIs are also "violations" to the FAA. They just pay attention to whether or not any disciplinary action was taken. To anyone else in this world it isn't. For your purposes, treat it as if it is not - that is your audience.

What you're asking is a moral question - only you can honestly answer it. The airlines will ask "ever" - but there isn't a way for the airline to follow up on it, no paper trail.
[Just on a side note here - although the FAA "removes" it from view it never completely goes away from your record. Nobody can see it... I repeat, nobody will see it but the FAA. But if you get in trouble with the FAA again they can see it on your record and, depending on the person, they may use it to compound any further misgiving.]

I agree with dojet - be honest and disclose it. This is your opportunity to explain yourself and what you learned from the experience. It was three years ago...don't discount that.

Lori