I had 2 DUI's about 6 years ago, is it realistic for me to become a commercial pilot?

I had 2 Dui's (one when I was 21 and one when I was 22) and I'm now
almost 28. I was working on a degree in communications and I'm at
about the junior level, but my old dream of flying just came back to
me all of the sudden and I thought I would make absolutely sure if
those DUI's will be more than just an obstacle for me.

Where I am at now is just trying to figure out how I can be sure one
way or another. How do I get the official thumbs up or down? I can't
bring myself to invest all that money only to be unsure and have to
wait until I get further down the road and committed to find out.

A teacher at the community college I go to now said he wasn't sure
about 2 dui's but he's seen people overcome one. He also gave me the
website www.jet-jobs.com for Air Inc, and said they can advise me and
they charge for their services. I thought I'd exhaust all my options
and ask here first/as well.

Any help, advice, or experience is really appreciated. Feel free to
email me!
Thanks,
Jarrod

wrote in message
oups.com...
I had 2 Dui's (one when I was 21 and one when I was 22) and I'm now
almost 28. I was working on a degree in communications

I don't know the answer I'm sorry, but I did have a chuckle at the fact you
were studying communications, and didn't 'get the message' after the first
DUI. ;-)
Crash Lander
--
http://straightandlevel1973.spaces.live.com/
I'm not always right,
But I'm never wrong!

Why not call the FAA direct and ask the source?

Any help, advice, or experience is really appreciated. Feel free to
email me!
Thanks,
Jarrod

If you join AOPA they will advise you on this or will point you to the
people who can.

Tony


--

Tony Roberts
PP-ASEL
VFR OTT
Night
Cessna 172H C-GICE

tony roberts wrote:
Any help, advice, or experience is really appreciated. Feel free to
email me!

If you join AOPA they will advise you on this or will point you to the
people who can.


I like Hawkeye's answer better. Calling the FAA is free. AOPA is an excellent
choice for those who are actually flying, but I wouldn't join unless I was
pretty sure I was going to fly. What if they say nobody has ever done it?
That's a lot of money for a membership that may not be useable.

I see this from two sides: 1) two DUIs are unexcusable. People who drink and
drive and then drink and drive again are bound to do it yet again. I don't want
to share the sky with such a person.

2) OTOH, we all do stupid things when we're young. The only difference between
Tony and myself is that he got caught. And knowing that, I also know mistakes
made at an early age don't have to be repeated. I stopped drinking and driving
when I was in my early 20s and in fact seldom drink at all today. People can
change.

So it's a crapshoot. I don't know how the FAA is going to look at this but I'd
be inclined to forget his youthful indiscretions. One other DUI though... and
it's out on his ass. But that's just my opinion.



--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN
mschnerdatcarolina.rr.com

("Mortimer Schnerd, RN" wrote)
2) OTOH, we all do stupid things when we're young. The only difference
between Tony and myself is that he got caught. And knowing that, I also
know mistakes made at an early age don't have to be repeated. I stopped
drinking and driving when I was in my early 20s and in fact seldom drink
at all today. People can change.


A local TV station did a 'watch us drink' report. Their blood alcohol levels
were all over the map. Individuals metabolize alcohol at wildly different
rates - according to the report. It was scary how one person was 3 drinks
and yet another was 8 drinks - before being over .08. Both people were of
similar build, btw.


Montblack

Jarrod

Check your State laws. Some States keep your DUI record forever I'm
told.

Other States wash your record out after a period of time, 5 years, 10
years or some such.

If your State gives you a clean record then should not be a problem
with FAA even if they have some rules about multiple DUI's????

Big John
*********************************

On Thu, 05 Jul 2007 01:31:27 -0000, wrote:

I had 2 Dui's (one when I was 21 and one when I was 22) and I'm now
almost 28. I was working on a degree in communications and I'm at
about the junior level, but my old dream of flying just came back to
me all of the sudden and I thought I would make absolutely sure if
those DUI's will be more than just an obstacle for me.

Where I am at now is just trying to figure out how I can be sure one
way or another. How do I get the official thumbs up or down? I can't
bring myself to invest all that money only to be unsure and have to
wait until I get further down the road and committed to find out.

A teacher at the community college I go to now said he wasn't sure
about 2 dui's but he's seen people overcome one. He also gave me the
website www.jet-jobs.com for Air Inc, and said they can advise me and
they charge for their services. I thought I'd exhaust all my options
and ask here first/as well.

Any help, advice, or experience is really appreciated. Feel free to
email me!
Thanks,
Jarrod

writes:
Where I am at now is just trying to figure out how I can be sure one
way or another. How do I get the official thumbs up or down? I can't
bring myself to invest all that money only to be unsure and have to
wait until I get further down the road and committed to find out.

Let's say you get the "official" thumbs up from the FAA. You go
through your training, and become a pilot. Now you need to go and
find a job...

Before committing to this route, you should not only ask the FAA, but
also try to get a feel for your chances of finding a job when you
finish. Perhaps it makes sense to talk to some airline recruiters or
professional pilots to see if the DUIs will hurt your chances of
getting a good job when you finish?

Chris

"Big John" wrote

Check your State laws. Some States keep your DUI record forever I'm
told.

Other States wash your record out after a period of time, 5 years, 10
years or some such.

If your State gives you a clean record then should not be a problem
with FAA even if they have some rules about multiple DUI's????

I didn't pay real close attention to what I read in the very recent past,
but word is that the FAA is wanting to get real strict about how they handle
DUI's and pilots.

Anyone else remember anything about that? I think it was in the last two
weeks, and I read it in AvWeb.
--
Jim in NC

On Thu, 5 Jul 2007 02:53:25 -0400, "Morgans"
wrote in :

but word is that the FAA is wanting to get real strict about how they handle
DUI's and pilots.

Anyone else remember anything about that? I think it was in the last two
weeks, and I read it in AvWeb.


It looks like it's the NTSB:


NTSB WANTS MORE OVERSIGHT OF SUBSTANCE-DEPENDENT PILOTS
(http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archive...ll.html#195496)
The FAA needs to do more to ensure that pilots dependent on
substances such as drugs and alcohol are properly evaluated by
aviation medical examiners, the NTSB said
(http://www.ntsb.gov/recs/letters/2007/A07_41_43.pdf) on Monday. A
number of aircraft accidents have occurred when the pilot's
substance dependence was relevant to the cause, according to the
Safety Board. The NTSB said the FAA should require pilots to
provide copies of arrest reports and court records to their
examiner prior to clinical evaluation. Those records, it added,
should be kept on file in the Aerospace Medical Certification
Division, where they can be accessed in regard to any application
for a medical certificate. Also, airmen who have been clinically
diagnosed with substance dependence, including dependence on
alcohol, should be medically certified only under a
special-issuance waiver, the NTSB said.
http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archive...ll.html#195496