Need some good Advice, Please.

[Flash 7]

Gentlemen,

I was wondering if you all could give me your insight.

I am currently flying as a jet captain for a regional airline. I just got my 1000 hrs. of PIC turbine and a 737 type. I have several buddies at SWA, ATA and Jet blue. My goal of course is to get on with one of the above mentioned carriers. I know my resume will be hand delivered but something in my background is concerning me a little.

About 4 1/2 years ago I was Flight instructing a pre-private student. On a short field approach he yanked way to hard on the yolk and stalled the aircraft 10 feet in the air. I of course took control but we still bounced several times and caused some minor structural damage to the aircraft. No one was hurt. The FAA was present that day and did classify this as an accident. They had me give a statement and had me go up with an examiner to go over short field landings which I passed without incident.

Do any of you think that this episode will hold me back from moving forward in my career. This did happen right before I was hired at my present airline. They didn't seem to have a problem with it as I explained it in a positive way, i.e what I had learned.

Any advice would be very much appreciated.

Thank you

 

[av8instyle]

They didn't seem to have a problem with it as I explained it in a positive way, i.e what I had learned.

That's the key, be upfront. Nearly everyone has skeletons. Some are larger than others STS.

 

[bobbysamd]

Being 609'd

Normally, seeing someone who was 609'd (709'd) alarms me. But I would say that if you've gotten as far as you have, and you've come a long way, that it shouldn't be a problem. That body would have been dug up long ago.

I second wholeheartedly that you should make full disclosure of this incident. But don't volunteer any more information than is contained in your records. Therefore, you should obtain your records from the FAA and review them to see what was said about you regarding your incident. Then, you can prepare an answer consistent with what can be obtained about you. Here's a link to the FAA website page from which you can order your records.

For that matter, you might be able to research the NTSB files for any records it has about your mishap.

Hope that helps. In my $0.02 opinion, based on your quals, you should be prime meat when your turn comes up. Best of luck with your plans.

 

[GuppyPuppy]

They didn't seem to have a problem with it as I explained it in a positive way, i.e what I had learned.

I think you just answered your own question.

Be honest!

Cheers!

GP

 

[Alaskaairlines]

Good luck!

I am sure you will be able to transition np.

 

[CoopDog]

Everybody makes mistakes

Flash,

After reading your post, I think you have a good handle on things. Let's say I'm an interviewer and I ask you any one of the following questions:

1. Tell me about a time you had to take control of a situation.
2. Tell me about a time you had to make a split second decision.
3. Tell me about a time that something didn't turn out the way you planned.
4. Have you ever been involved in an aircraft accident?

The point is that the story you just told would fit any one of these questions, and very appropriately for any of them. It might really surprise you how easily you can use this story to your benefit. This is obviously a good story, and one any interviewer could understand and appreciate. He or she would certainly appreciate your honesty, and how you learned from it.

Any good interviewer is trying to find out who you really are, and with a very limited list of questions, and in a very limited amount of time. It's up to you to let them know who you are and what you're all about. They're not going to get concerned that you had an unfortunate small event occur early in your career, but they will be concerned if you lie about, or seem reluctant to discuss it, or make excuses.

In my opinion, there are two things you should think about before you answer just about any interview question, unless of course it requires just a simple yes or no answer, or some other obvious quick answer:

No. 1: S-A-R, Situation, Action, Result
(e.g., what happened, what did you do about it, and what did you learn from it?)

No. 2: Negative to Positive
(applying No. 1, you explain an obvious negative situation into a positive one.)

In your story about the accident, you applied most of No. 1 very well. If you think about, and I'm sure you have, you can apply No. 2 as well. Believe it or not, yours is a very good story, and I don't think you'll have any problems with it if you just tell it the right way.

If I were an interviewer, and you popped out this story to me in a very honest and positive way, I would think WOW, this guy is of great character and is obviously the kind of person we're looking for. And I would be even more impressed if you told it to answer questions 1,2, or 3, rather than waiting for me to ask you question 4.

Look at it this way; If you come out of the blocks early in the interview with it, it allows the interviewer more time to find out who you really are, and you more time to let him know. (also, it's one less hard question for him to ask) That's when it can become fun, and you both can relax, and just talk without the tension.

You sound like you're already on the right track. Good luck.

 

[Flash 7]

Thanks a lot for your input guys,

I really appreciate it!

 

[AZaviator]

About 4 1/2 years ago I was Flight instructing a pre-private student. On a short field approach he yanked way to hard on the yolk and stalled the aircraft 10 feet in the air. I of course took control but we still bounced several times and caused some minor structural damage to the aircraft. No one was hurt. The FAA was present that day and did classify this as an accident. They had me give a statement and had me go up with an examiner to go over short field landings which I passed without incident.

The way you wrote it on your post would be an ideal way of explaining it in an interview. You summed it up greatly with a good conclusion. This definetly should not prevent you from getting a job with your dream airline, considering airlines hire pilots with things on their records such as DUIs, more serious accidents, speeding tickets, etc.

Good luck.

 

[TriStar_drvr]

I'm being a stickler, but if you put that story on an ATA application, make sure you have someone proofread it. It's "yoke" not "yolk", and "too hard" instead of "to hard."

In these competitive times, you need to be a stickler for the details.

And no, I don't think your accident will keep you from being hired.

Good luck.

 

[DA50pilot]

It's "yoke" not "yolk", and "too hard" instead of "to hard."

I know the yolk is not correct; but I thought that "to hard" is correct. Not too.

 

[airbaker]

"Too" is used as an adverb meaning "excessively." In this case, "too hard" is grammatically correct.