So hypothetically speaking.....

Let's say a guy washed out of a military flight program. Does this effectively kill his/her chances of working for a major airline?

Thanks,

DK

 

No.. go establish yourself with another company flying banners, traffic, cargo.. whatever for at least a year. Then move on. Once you show a history in 135 and 121 programs... nobody should be able to establish a trend of problems. Be prepared to answer that question the rest of your life.. but there will always be a job for you. You may get one or two "no thank you's"... but there will always be something.. Move on.. Aviation is unforgiving, but it's also there for the persistant to take...

 

The details of exactly why a guy washed out would probably be important to a prospective employer.

But I wouldn't say that just washing out would necessarily cause a person to be unemployable by the airlines.

Hypothetically

 

How would the airlines know about it? If a guy washes out of UPT, washes his hands of the military, presses on with a civilian career and does well, how would anyone know about him washing out? Not trying to be facetious, I'm just curious how someone would find out if the guy didn't tell them.

 

During an interview (and on the application for employment) you need to account for every day of your life since graduation. So... They will know. Plus, they'll need a DD 214 to verify Honorable Discharge (or whatever level was received)

I guess the guy could always claim he was assigned base environmental control officer, which was assigned to casual students at our UPT base.

All in all, not an impossible hurdle to overcome. I had a student who washed out and went on to fly for a regional carrier. No idea how far he went with it, but I wish him the best of luck. Most employers understand how strictly time limited the syllabus is in UPT, and sometimes the learning curve isn't steep enough. But given a second chance in the civilian world, perhaps one can prove his worth and be successful.

Sometimes no means just not right now. Persistence pays off. Best of luck in this hypothetical situation!

 

I'm not sure how they would even know you washed out of UPT? As for the DD214, CAL wants it at the interview, while SWA wants it afterwards.

 

I know of such a guy who is currently employed at FDX. A new hire, in fact.

 

I know a guy who had his Navy wings taken by a field review board. Six months later he was at CAL. (the year was 1982, though) Bottom line is that there are no hard and fast rules.

 

What happened?

 

Good points by all.. I would think the only killers would be some sort of drug, DUI, or medical problem. If you just couldn't nail your TACAN point to points, but showed the problem was fixed later through lots of hours with other companies, you should be OK.. One would think.. Also, be prepared how to answer it in an interview.

When I went through Navy UPT in the late 80s, we had lots of guy wash out. Many went to other sevices or went to time building jobs and continued to fly. Sometimes budget considerations force the sevices to RIF (Reduction in Forces). When this happens the standards are changed in flight school so more guys wash.. That's what happened to the guys I knew.