Q: I had an aircraft accident a few years back. The FAA didn’t issue any administrative or enforcement action. There were contributing issues with maintenance. Yet, I was the pilot in command and it is on my record. Do I have any chance of getting hired by a regional or a major? I have more than 3,000 hours of multiengine time. -Embarrassed in Tennessee
A: You say that the FAA didn’t issue any action, either administrative or enforcement. How would a potential employer even know about the accident? Without a violation, how is it on your record?
The first thing that I would recommend to you or anyone heading toward an airline interview is to get a copy of everything in your FAA airman file. Download Form 8060-68 from the FAA website. Fill out the form and send the $3 fee to the Airman Certification Branch, AFS-760, in Oklahoma City. If an airline is going to dig into your background, they are going to retrieve your airman file.
If the accident occurred during a Part 135 or 121 flight, then it will most likely be made a part of your Pilot Records Improvement Act records from that employer. Any Part 135 or 121 carrier that hires pilots with previous air carrier experience are required to obtain copies of the FAA certification validation, Department of Motor Vehicles records, and training records from the previous employer.
If there is no record of the accident in your airman file, then you are most likely clear. However, if your accident was investigated—even though there was no follow-up action against you—the FAA inspector most likely completed a Program Tracking and Reporting System record. This database is used primarily by the FAA internally and is generally not available to the public without going through a Freedom of Information Act request.
Even though there may be no public record of the accident, you most likely will hear a question like this in the interview or see a similar question on an application: “Have you ever had an FAA enforcement action against you or been involved in an aircraft accident?” Although honesty is the best policy, you need to consider the question carefully. If, as a result of your accident, you had to take a reexamination under 49 USC Section 44709, the reexamination is not a violation. Is it possible that the event was an “incident” and not an “accident”? If it was an incident, you did not have an accident.
Airline recruiters understand that humans make mistakes. If you need to discuss the event, be honest and forthright. What happened? Are you willing to take responsibility? What did you learn from the event? The pilot shortage has made recruiters a little more forgiving.
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