Checkride failures
 

The question of addressing failed checkrides has been in the news recently. A question from the 'Ask a pilot recruiter' forum asking whether stage checkrides at a Part 141 school would/should be reported to the FAA/interviewer during an airline interview. This prompted my question about failures during military flight training"

Have any of the other military aviators here on APC been asked this question during an interview?

USMCFLYR

The first airline (the old National Airlines) I was hired at asked if I had any checkride failures in the military.

And with that question - would you answer a failure of any single training flight as a failure - or only something with "checkride" after it's name?

USMCFLYR

Anything with the word checkride after it...don't think a single failure of a ride during training would or should qualify...the pilot is learning and then will be tested (checkride) on the training.

This was one of my beefs with this whole CF-PRIA thing post 3407. Retrieving these records under FOIA will take forever. In my close-out records, all it has are the aircraft qualifications, total hours, and the date of the last checkride.

I inteviewed with COMAIR in early 08 before the rest of the industry stopped hiring. Having never interviewed for any professional job, I did the interview for experience and am glad I did. During the interview I was asked if I had ever failed a checkride, to which I honestly answered no. I was then asked if I had ever had unsatisfactory performance on a flight to which I answered yes. I then gave them the quick and dirty on a early stage BFM ride in the FRS(RTU equiv.) which didn't go so well for me. I told them what I did wrong as it related to airmanship and what I learned from it and moved on. I was offered the job but declined a class date. My personal feelings on this topic are to be up front and honest to the question that is asked. If the word checkride is in the question, then i would submit any instrument or NATOPS(systems) check would be fair game. I would also argue that any tactical upgrade(check flight) would be fair game as well. I would not offer up information that is not asked directly. Just my .02.

I think you answered your own question.

Tell them only what they ask.

I failed a checkride in UPT and nobody cared. I did learn a lesson and that is what I told the interviewer. That seems to be what they care about - how you take responsibility for your mistakes, and don't blame others.

PS The guy that hooked me was a tool, and if I ever cross paths with him, I will give him the what for. Seriously, though, he was a jerk.

During my SWA interview they asked me to bring my FEF folder (record of Air Force Form 8's - checkrides). This includes just official checkrides both mission and instrument since graduating pilot training (SUPT/ENJJPT checkrides are not form 8's and thus not tracked). Every pilot on the board that day was an ex AF fighter type but one token Navy -18 driver, so they knew what they were looking at.

As others stated, just answer the question exactly what is asked.
Lots of airline pilots have busted a recurrent sim, etc. They learn and press on. A busted checkride in the commercial world does not have quite the same stigma has it does to a military pilot. I busted a military checkride, answered in the affirm, told them what a bonehead I was and what I learned. The folks hiring know that you have been screened by a very credible organization with alot of sets of eyeballs and still made it through to completion (same in a 141 school).
Additionally, in any pilot interview, there is the "Is this person honest' question that needs to be answered. My recommendation is get a "I don't know the answer to that one, but no where to look" out early <g>. Otherwise, they will dig until they can determine that answer. If they think you are BS'ing them, you are done. Always got a job offer.

AirTran and UPS didn't ask, but I fessed up at both interviews during the "Do you have anything to add or tell us part?" neither cared and both found the associated stories quite humorous