Hard pill to swallow
Your certificate is revoked. Is there a light at the end of the tunnel?
Q: I never hear it talked about for any number of reasons, but is it possible to obtain a pilot certificate after one has been revoked? If so, how?
A: Yes, it is, but the individual will have some work to do to obtain one. When a pilot certificate is revoked, that person is no longer a pilot. That is a hard pill to swallow for some, but it is not the end of the world. It is important to remember that although the FAA has taken your pilot certificate, they can never take your flight hours or experience.
You must wait a full year after revocation before you apply and, you must start at the bottom of the ladder. The process is easier if a private certificate is revoked, and proportionately harder if an airline transport pilot certificate is revoked. To start, obtain a student pilot certificate and retake the private pilot knowledge test. Since you have already met the private requirements in the past, you should have all the required aeronautical experience (flight time). By regulation, you only need to obtain three hours of dual from a flight instructor to prepare for the flight test, but you must also meet the Private Pilot Airman Certification Standards test requirements, whatever time that takes. You would then take and pass the flight test as before to be issued a private certificate.
It is more challenging for an ATP revocation because to take that test, you must have first met the commercial and instrument rating requirements. And to take the commercial test, you must have first met the private requirements. One must hold a student certificate to earn a private, hold a private to earn a commercial, and hold a commercial with instrument rating to earn an ATP.
Craig Brown is a senior aviation technical specialist in the AOPA Pilot Information Center.
pilotassist@aopa.org
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