Accident / Incident

[ArcherB]

I was reading a post on the jet careers website and there was a discussion about accidents / incidents. My question is would it be obvious to you as a pilot if you had an incident on your record? I have made precausionary landings etc due to malfunctions but never heard much from the FAA. How do you guys feel about this do you feel that a incident on your record is really going to destroy your chances of being hired by the airlines ? Thanks.

 

[avbug]

That depends on the incident. Run out of fuel and make a forced landing? That hurts you, without question. Have a structural failure or systems failure that you handle well, that may help you.

The bottom line is what you could have done to prevent it. If you have a wooden propeller separate in flight because you failed to do a good preflight, that's not a good thing. If you experience something over which you had no control, but with which you dealt professionally, that's a good thing. It can be used to your advantage.

You stated you never heard much from the FAA. Did the FAA get involved at all, or not? Be specific; it's hard to address such generalities. What was the nature of the event, how was it handled, who did you talk to, what role at any phase did the FAA play, what was the cost, how did the insurance get involved, did it affect your employment at the time, what type of operation and employment were you under, etc? It all matters.

 

[350DRIVER]

Gear up due to stupidity, over shoot a runway, taxi into a ditch, run out of gas and put it down in a field, etc, etc, that could all have been avoided then it is going to hurt you pretty bad during an interview and you are surely going to have to justify the "why" and "how" as well as the details and hope that the people doing the interview are understanding people. I personally would not want to have to justify why something happened like the above. It is much better to have a clean slate.
A local pilot that flies a Navaslow has geared up, he ran out of gas in a caravan, over shot a runway up in Canada, and he has interviewed many times with different companies and he probably will be stuck where he is due to his track record. He interviewed with PSA twice and tried to get on with us and we refuse to even touch him with a ten foot pole. I think he is going to have a very very hard time.


Structural damage/failure or things beyond your control then it may work to your advantage dependent upon how well you handled the situation.

In today's market it is way too competitive for a company to have to settle for a pilot with "damaged goods", too many pilots out there with a clean slate to choose from.

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[quigs]

It is all about supply and demand. There are many pilots who have incidents/accidents on their record who are flying the big iron. Im not saying that if you have crashed three times your going to get a job, but many people have single incidents/accidents. To get a job right now with a record might be really tuff. However, if hiring picks up and demand goes up, then you might stand a descent shot. I have had many friends that have crashed an aircraft, some from stupidity, others from just mechanical breakdown. They have all made it to thier goals. Several fly for major airlines, regionals, corporate, etc. Most of it has to do with your attitude, you have to accept responsibility and show what you have learned from it. The FAA examiner that did my recurrent had crashed before, it didn't stop him in his goals. Im sure all of these guys would have rather had a clean slate, it isn't exactly fun to go through a crash, but stuff happens. I personally would rather be flying with someone who has crashed and survived-they have been there done that... ArcherB, I wouldn't let it stop me for a minute.

 

[katanabob]

We know about incidents and accidents, but what about hints and allegations?

 

[ArcherB]

Thanks guys the reason for the post was mainly from the stuff I was reading on Jet Careers. Knock on wood I have not had any problems due to my stupidity as of now. The scenario on the jet careers page was about an AA 767 that had a structural failure during taxi and the argument was that the pilots are screwed if ever they are out of work and looking for a new job. Thanks for all the input it is much appreciated.

 

[350DRIVER]

We know about incidents and accidents, but what about hints and allegations?

Paul Simon sang a kool tune about the hints and allegations and said " you could call me Al"

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[Snakum]

A retired US Air 737 Captain at BUY told me once that in the old days at Peidmont "... you couldn't get hired unless you'd f@cked up an airplane."



Minh