felony

[Jolly Roger]

I have a reative (I swear!) who has been convicted of a felony. He had a few ratings, but is in jail now. He asked me if he could ever fly again in any capacity when I visited him yesterday, and mentioned the sport pilot route.... I have been out of GA so long, that my info is useless. Thanks for your time!

 

[Princedietrich]

As a private pilot going for a $100 hamburger on the weekends, possible.

As a commercial pilot in any sort of fly-for-hire capacity, I seriously doubt it.

 

[Amish RakeFight]

In ten years.

 

[ms6073]

As long as the crime committed did involve violations of FAR's or impact air safety, then I imagine your relative's airman certificate(s) as offenses involving alchohol or drugs most likely will result in a suspension or revocation of any certificate, rating, or authorization. Also, the next time your relative renews his medical certificate, he will have to report the conviction and associated details. Depending on the crime, the aeromedical branch may decide that your relative poses a hazard to air safety and may therefore use relevant sections from FAR 67.107 to support the assumption that your relative is unable to safely perform the duties or exercise the privileges of his airman certificate. To that extent the Aeromedical branch may even require substantial mental health screenings/evaluations in order to determine 'eligibility' for continued medical certification (see FAR 67.107: Mental to get an idea).

 

[Jolly Roger]

Thanks, guys,

Yeah the relative is actually my dad... killed a guy under some extreme circumstances:

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=49360

He has a couple thousand hours, including many as a helicopter cop in San Antonio TX. He is now 63 and only interested in flying for fun.. I was thinking about buying something we could fly together some day. He will get out soon, and always loved to fly. He may get a pardon some day, but until then will be a convicted felon... thanks again for the replies, and anyone with more info feel free to post or pm... it looks like the medical will be the problem.

 

[B-J-J Fighter]

That sucks for your dad, sorry to hear about that. I don't think anything would stop him from flying again professionally if he wanted to again. I know I place or 2 that would probably put him to work the day he gets out of jail if he wants to fly again and one of them is flying a helo.

 

[gsrcrsx68]

Well since you put the link up...

Anybody looking at that link might want to realize it is an appearently far right wing website.

The article seems to ignore the fact the shooting was an execution of a man in handcuffs, only found out by a video tape in the officers car. Further the officer had a different story than what the tape showed.

It is obviously a terrible situation and I sure has caused an awful amount of pain for everyone effected.

As far as flying again, I hope something works out for him. It sounds like he has probably paid dearly for a situation that he never asked for in the first place. I am just sitting here shaking my head and thinking...pretty good chance I would have done the same.

 

[NW_Pilot]

Wow!!!! what a story not to be rude but That guy should have got life in a hospital he did cross the line the guy was bound and unarmed! I wonder how he would be in a real stressful situation while piloting an airplane? Would he snap or would he be able to control himself? But maybe the punishment of solitary confinement for a year taught him something or could have made his illness worse! It’s sad that our country will imprison sick people instead of getting them the required medical attention they need. Next thing you will know our government will be placing people with cancer in prison just for having an illness. I hope the guy gets to fly again but maybe his PIC days are over it may be up to his parole officer and a medical professional to decide. "Police department should pay for all medical treatment"

 

[MaxTorque]

I would fly with your dad any day. Given the opportunity, I would be proud to shake his hand and buy him dinner.

MT

 

[Amish RakeFight]

Dude, what a crazy story.

Sorry this happened to your Dad. I think most of us would have wanted to do the same as well to this piece of vermin after witnessing all of this.

The stomach flu, wedding anniversary, unscheduled duty, etc. - Murphy's Law took him out that night. He shouldn't have been there. Just like the chain of events that normally lead up to an airplane accident, if only he could have broken the link somewhere along the night.

 

[Rally]

Good Glad he shot him, that way we don't have to feed the white racist for the rest of hour lifes while he gets life or sits on death roll. Unfortunate for your dad a year in jail was probably a little excessive. Psychological help (stress?) and a firing was probably more appropriate.

 

[NW_Pilot]

Good Glad he shot him, that way we don't have to feed the white racist for the rest of hour lifes while he gets life or sits on death roll. Unfortunate for your dad a year in jail was probably a little excessive. Psychological help (stress?) and a firing was probably more appropriate.

We have laws in this country everyone is entitled to due process maybe the guy was placed in a really stressful situation by his female human acquaintance and cracked just like the persons father in this story. Leave the right to retroactive abortion to a Jury not to a lone police officer!

 

[NJA bound]

NWpilot, wonder if you'd feel different if you were the dead cop or the dead cops little kid.

 

[gsrcrsx68]

I'm somewhat in agreement with NWPilot. Everybody's got a reason...some people got a reason and a list, a few have a reason, a list and are just coming up a bit short on the price of a gun. Then there are the very few who follow through. Point being, minus laws and punshiment we'd all be taking care of business on our own.

That said, I don't really see this as that much of a moral delima. The guy lost a gun fight and paid with his life. As far as the officer goes, I think what he did was ok (not great by any means), but certainly deserved some jail time. That's hearing only the side of the story of those who lived. If both sides could talk, I might feel entirely differently, maybe even to the point that the officer should be in prison for the rest of his life (probably not in this case).

I for one really don't want cops making descisions like that. If you want to grant them that right and then take it to its logical conclusion, you'll see you don't want cops with that kind of power either. And that's a no brainer.

 

[Rally]

I agree but every now and then the US could use a little vigilante justice. Like maybe a vigilante at the next Man Boy Love Association meeting.

 

[TrafficInSight]

NWpilot, wonder if you'd feel different if you were the dead cop or the dead cops little kid.

Yeah sorry but the document this country was founded on doesn't say "unless what they did was really really bad."

At any rate, nothing more depressing than a grounded pilot. Good luck!

 

[NW_Pilot]

I'm somewhat in agreement with NWPilot. Everybody's got a reason...some people got a reason and a list, a few have a reason, a list and are just coming up a bit short on the price of a gun. Then there are the very few who follow through. Point being, minus laws and punshiment we'd all be taking care of business on our own.

That said, I don't really see this as that much of a moral delima. The guy lost a gun fight and paid with his life. As far as the officer goes, I think what he did was ok (not great by any means), but certainly deserved some jail time. That's hearing only the side of the story of those who lived. If both sides could talk, I might feel entirely differently, maybe even to the point that the officer should be in prison for the rest of his life (probably not in this case).

I for one really don't want cops making descisions like that. If you want to grant them that right and then take it to its logical conclusion, you'll see you don't want cops with that kind of power either. And that's a no brainer.

imprisoning a sick person is not the answer the COP needed and may still need medical help! Now if they guy that he killed was not bound I would say he deserved an award for retroactive aborting the creep.

But he was bound and unarmed and that was wrong even our governments rules of war thats even wrong.

I am wondering about both the subjects medical history if there was any pansy pill usage by any of them if there was any pansy pill usage by the officer I would not hold him one bit responsible I would hold the department.

We don't know the hole story would be interesting to see the trial documents.

 

[Jafar]

NW Pilot, I don't know what a Pansy Pill is, what the hell you're talking about, or frankly, what planet you are from. I'm relatively certain you don't know any of the above, either. The one thing I am confident about is that I'm one of the people you would say "has mental illness" and I ought to be "in hospital."

Put me on the list of people who want to shake Jolly's dad's hand and buy him dinner.

 

[gsrcrsx68]

imprisoning a sick person is not the answer the COP needed and may still need medical help! Now if they guy that he killed was not bound I would say he deserved an award for retroactive aborting the creep.

Where is your diagnosis coming from? I might have missed that in the article. Hopefully your not refering to him as mentally ill because of the incident. IMO, what he did was sane, logical, and morally ok. Was it illegal, yup. Legal and right aren't always the same, again IMO.

I'd rather spend some time in jail for something I did then people judge me insane because they don't agree with my choice.

 

[NW_Pilot]

NW Pilot, I don't know what a Pansy Pill is, what the hell you're talking about, or frankly, what planet you are from. I'm relatively certain you don't know any of the above, either. The one thing I am confident about is that I'm one of the people you would say "has mental illness" and I ought to be "in hospital."

Put me on the list of people who want to shake Jolly's dad's hand and buy him dinner.

I am not sure what Planet I am a decedent from I know I was given birth to by a human on Planet Earth with a life goal of leaving it's Atmosphere.

NW_Pilot's Definition Of Pansy Pill: Any designer psychiatric drug produced and given to a human male or female by a Drug Pusher (M.D. after their name) to let them cope with reality or function on a daily basis!

 

[NW_Pilot]

Where is your diagnosis coming from? I might have missed that in the article. Hopefully your not refering to him as mentally ill because of the incident. IMO, what he did was sane, logical, and morally ok. Was it illegal, yup. Legal and right aren't always the same, again IMO.

I'd rather spend some time in jail for something I did then people judge me insane because they don't agree with my choice.

I am not in a position to make any type of diagnosis just speculation from the one sided poorly written artical. I did not call him insane them are your words I said

the COP needed and may still need medical help

I am wondering about both the subjects medical history

 

[avbug]

Too little information is provided on the nature of the crime or the circumstances surrounding it to comment...and what has been provided is suspect. Further, the conviction makes the details irrelevant too all but an appealate court...and certainly irrelevant to the question of future flying opportunities.

The question specifically is w(h)eather a felony conviction will prevent one from flying commercially...and the answer is no, it won't. The person in question's age might...but the conviction will only prove a barrier in certain arenas. Many utility operators won't give a stuff about the conviction, and certain government contractors might even find it intriguing.

I do have an opinion on the material presented regarding the circumstances of your father's conviction, but in light of his conviction, my opinion is irrelevant. So are any other opinions or details regarding what occured, except for the individual whom your father approaches looking for a job. Given his age, he may face an uphill battle in his effort to regain certification and employment, though it's not impossbile, and nothing will prevent him from doing so but himself.

 

[Jolly Roger]

Thanks again guys for the responses. I posted this link because is was the first I came across.. it is a right wing publication, but all you need to do is a qiuck google, and many more detailed articals and news links will pop up. He was featured in a half page NY times piece among others, and appeared from jail on Anderson Cooper 360, ABC primetime, and Geraldo... all showed him very favorably, and all painted a picture of the unbelievable circumstances that led to the shooting, and some are well known liberal media.

I will not continue to argue with those who stand in judgement of my father, because I know they have no idea how they would have reacted (most would be dead!) in a situation so extreme that it would be nearly impossible to replicate. I don't know how I would have reacted. I do know that sitting here typing this I can say that I would gladly exchange a year in jail for killing a person who killed my wife, mother, brother, best friend, you name it. My dad did not do it with malice or forethought at the time, the events unfolded so rapidly and under such extreme emotional duress that armchair quarterbacking is meaningless.

My dad is 63, and has no intention of any commercial flying, only to fly recreationally the way he did in the Cessna 170B he owned when I was a boy. I would like to buy something with him, and only asked the question because I would hope he could legally fly when I wasn't around to be with him.

 

[lawfly]

No comment on the specifics of the crime, but, for ATP purposes, "good moral character" is still required, so far as I know.
A couple of nice avatars on this thread!

 

[ms6073]

My dad is 63, and has no intention of any commercial flying, only to fly recreationally

Again, when your father applies to renew his medical certificate, he will have to declare the offense and specific details. I am pretty sure that regardless of the circumstances, a conviction for manslaughter is considered a crime of moral turpitude and any medical application indicating such an offense will most certainly be deferred for review by the regional flight surgeon's office. It is possible that based on the nature of the offense, the aero medical branch might opt to pursue medical disqualification. If you are a member of AOPA, I suggest that you consult with an AOPA medical specialist who might be able to better address the specifics of how the Aero Medical branch might proceed in this situation or at least point you in the right direction for more information. Another thought - but one I would suggest only as a last resort - is to contact the Aero Medical Branch and discuss the situation with the regional flight surgeon. For the Southwest region (Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas) the regional flight surgeon is G.J. Salazar, M.D. - http://www.faa.gov/licenses_certificates/medical_certification/rfs/asw/contact/

 

[avbug]

Issues of moral character apply only to the ATP certificate, and are irrelevant in this case.

The issues of morality regarding this matter are entirely irrelevant, as the matter has been handled by a court. Right or wrong, a court of law in full authority has recognized a conviction, and at such time that the person in question is released, will recognize that this debt has been fulfilled.

This person has no intention of flying commercially, as stated by the original poster, and therefore should have no issues resuming recreational or private flying.

 

[siucavflight]

Mesa would probably hire him, just tell him to get about 300 hours.

 

[navigator72]

Nobody knows how they would react in the same situation. Maybe I would have done the same thing, I don't know. I do know that police officers have to make instant decisions and live with the consequences of their actions.
I personally think your dad did the right thing. I would also like to shake his hand.