Career advise for someone with misdemeanor
 

A friend of mine who has just finished his Instrument training has just been charged with a gross-misdemeanor invasion of privacy charge. He is a great pilot with a flawless record besides this accusation. It is likely it will be lowered to a misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge. He wants to continue his training since he only has a few months left before he were to get his CFI. I know the guy well, he would be a great instructor or pilot. He just made a bad mistake. He is holed up at the moment, so I thought I would reach out and try to get a little advice from some of you about what he should expect career wise from this point.

Thanks.

Unfortunately while the airlines are often forgiving of young, stupid, HARMLESS behavior, this sounds (without knowing the deets) like very premeditated stalking/threatening/pervert behavior.

If it's the latter, he will be unemployable by airlines for as long as they know or can find out what transpired. No amount of pilot skills will ever overcome something like this, including a space shuttle type rating. If you think I'm kidding google Lisa Nowak...she won't be getting an airline job either.

Best advice would be plead it down and eventually try to get it expunged. Airlines are used to disorderly conduct, but that usually means drunk and/or urinating in public after a frat party. If this is what I think it is, it has to be buried for good, which may not be possible.

If you provide more details, we can try to make an educated guess.

It would depend on the "creepiness" of the crime. Legally, invasion of privacy is not a disqualifying offense but the recruiters at the premium carriers are a little pickier than the law.

In most jurisdictions, DisCon is not even a misdemeanor, it is a mere violation and if he has an otherwise clean record, should be able to plead it out to nothing.

Maybe if you gave us more info, one of us jailhouse lawyers can give you better info.

Based on the accusation he was apparently busted peeping into a dressing room. If that is any help. He has a masters degree and a lot of other leverage with being a community volunteer. Flight training is expensive. If the airlines are not a viable option, would he have a chance as an aircraft mechanic? Sorry, I am acting as an intermediary. Please don't make any judgements he is a great guy, maybe other people could benefit from your advice as well.

Thanks!

Pazziato, your friend will be just fine. There was a flight instructor at our school who committed a crime much worse than what you described in the above post. In my opinion, his actions should have been a career ending mistake in any profession, yet he was hired by a "good" jet regional. Not only that, he also wrecked an airplane with a student on a cross-wind landing. Everyone on here that says your friend will not be able to get a job because of his "peeping" is absolutely wrong, as I witnessed this CFI get hired first hand. That said, it did take him 2000+ hours and 3 interviews with various companies to land his current gig and just how he managed to explain his issue in the interview is a mystery to me.

With all due respect Rickair7777, your incorrect. As I stated earlier, I personally witnessed someone falling under your category of "pervert behavior" land a job at a good regional. We were all shocked when we found out he was hired. Of course I personlly would not hire someone with this background, but the facts show there IS hope for this guy despite his stupid behavior.

Not that rickair's reading of the tea leafs might be anymore correct, but knowing of ONE person who beat the odds doesn't not exactly give any more credence to the question. Someone (more than a few) won that last lottery too, but most *sane* people don't put their faith into the bet that they will also be the lucky one next month.
You said yourself that you don't know the circumstances of his iterview. Maybe he took that chance and lied during the successful interview after being turned down after the first two.

USMCFLYR

I didn't say it couldn't happen, I said he had to bury the incident very deeply.

"Pervert behavior" will not keep you from getting a job unless there is a conviction to document the behavior. In some states an employer cannot even consider a misdemeanor but the airlines will generally see that history during the TSA background check.

Nobody I have ever known who was involved in hiring at any airline would hire somebody who got caught doing this unless the person was about 12 years old at the time.

My advice stands...don't plan on an airline career with this on your record. It will need to be expunged and even that might not keep employers from finding out.

But the good news is that peeping tom behavior is better than threatening/stalking behavior.

Also regionals, especially bottom feeders, are notoriously cheap. But decent major airlines will perform very thorough background checks so something that might slip by a regional would likely still keep you from getting hired at a major. I consider getting stuck at a regional in today's uncertain climate to be a career-ender. What are you going to do when your regional shuts down? Regional lifers are going the way of the dodo bird.

Tell your friend to get a good lawyer and make it go away. This should not be difficult. Also, I have to add that if was caught doing this once, he may have not been caught doing this other times. Have a heart to heart with him and if is prone to this behavior, get him into counseling before he ruins his life.

Not being judgemental, just offering advice on how to help your friend. He should not apply for any job requiring a background check until this is resolved.

From the replies he is probably unable to be hired on the major airlines. Besides the airlines, could he work in any capacity in avaiation with this on his record?