Can a felony conviction prevent me from obtaining my PPL?

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Sam Murray

Filing Flight Plan
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Smurray
I am aspiring to become a pilot I do have a criminal background ranging from misdemeanors to felony charges. I was a troubled kid. My most recent felony charge was being a felon in possession of a firearm in 2017. I have since turned my life around and want to pursue my childhood dream of becoming a pilot. Do I stand a chance? What obstacles am I facing and are there any options I have that can help me pursue this dream? Or am I just out of luck?
 
You've got two problems. First, is that the firearms charge is a seven year disqualification. You still have a few years to go apparently.

Second, a lot of criminal history is going to bode poorly for you on the medical. You're looking at a lot of psychological testing to prove you're just antisocial rather than crazy.
 
You have been given good counsel. It will be a tough road. There are some other avenues depending on what you want to do

Good luck. Look through the forums. There is a wealth of information here
 
Do you want to fly for fun or fly for a living? If you want to fly for a living, that firearms felony bust might make employers reluctant to hire you even if you make it through the FAA hoops.
 
Start with sport pilot for 2-3 years. By that time, you’ll have plenty of experience to know where to go from there if anywhere.
 
bflynn said:
Start with sport pilot for 2-3 years. By that time, you’ll have plenty of experience to know where to go from there if anywhere.
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Yes. Do NOT apply for a medical until you thoroughly research this and are sure of the outcome. If you apply and get denied you are locked out of sport pilot. I would go to the Medical subforum and read through a bunch of those threads, especially the ones involving mental disorders like ADHD and substance abuse and DUIs because the process you face will be similar to what they go through to try to get certified. Some of those posters also have felony convictions.

Edit: @GeorgeC did the search for you.:)
 
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Rushie said:
Yes. Do NOT apply for a medical until you thoroughly research this and are sure of the outcome. If you apply and get denied you are locked out of sport pilot. I would go to the Medical subforum and read through a bunch of those threads, especially the ones involving mental disorders like ADHD and substance abuse and DUIs because the process you face will be similar to what they go through to try to get certified. Some of those posters also have felony convictions.
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It’s not just a medical thing, though. If he wants to fly heavies, he’ll undergo a TSA background check. And if he needs access to secure areas of an airport, that’s another screening. There are several ways a felony conviction can trip him.

@Sam Murray , you wrote “My most recent felony charge ...”

Just how many felony convictions do you have? And what were they for? The FAA decides these things on a case by case basis and they have considerable latitude. Multiple felonies probably mean a very steep hill for you, especially felonies involving weapons or violence.
 
There's no way he's getting a TSA clearance (DC-3, SIDA, TWIC, whatever) with a felony firearms charge within the past seven years. Ain't gonna happen. The feds use the same list of charges for all of these things.
 
flyingron said:
There's no way he's getting a TSA clearance (DC-3, SIDA, TWIC, whatever) with a felony firearms charge within the past seven years. Ain't gonna happen. The feds use the same list of charges for all of these things.
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Agreed. But also notice that the charge was firearm possession by a felon. He already had other felony convictions prior to the possession. So we have multiple felonies, at least one of which involved a firearm.

Long, long odds.....
 
Yep, but not all felonies are on even the interim list. Firearms violations are. As I mentioned, multiple convictions at any level is going to raise issues at medical time as well. That's why the FAA asks about them.
 
Do you need a SIDA badge to learn to fly? Or a TSA clearance? As I recall, the requirements the school was interested in was mainly checking that they had my passport information to ensure I was a US citizen. A new student that shows up is a long time from getting a security badge.
 
To learn to fly, no. However the TSA has taken action against certificates of those who have disqualifying criminal convictions.
 
1) Stop posting under your actual name/login and move to the medical forum where you can post as a guest.

2) read similar threads as suggested.

3) reach out to our resident whiz in all things FAA medical, Dr Chien. If you have a chance, he will know how to proceed. Follow his instructions to the letter, be patient (his expertise makes him a busy man) and do not BS him on anything.
 
Omalley1537 said:
1) Stop posting under your actual name/login and move to the medical forum where you can post as a guest.

2) read similar threads as suggested.

3) reach out to our resident whiz in all things FAA medical, Dr Chien. If you have a chance, he will know how to proceed. Follow his instructions to the letter, be patient (his expertise makes him a busy man) and do not BS him on anything.
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Agree. Also, @Half Fast is right. If you want to fly for fun or personal use, then if you can get past the FAA medical you should be good. Or if it appears you can’t, stick to Sport Pilot. But if you want to fly for a career it’s a different set of obstacles. My understanding is it’s hard enough to break into a high paying pilot career without such a history.
 
bflynn said:
Do you need a SIDA badge to learn to fly?
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Depends on the airport. If he's training at a small airport, likely no. However, if he would be training at a larger airport with commercial airline service, he might, depending on the location of the GA ramp at the airport and their rules.
 
Rushie said:
Agree. Also, @Half Fast is right. If you want to fly for fun or personal use, then if you can get past the FAA medical you should be good. Or if it appears you can’t, stick to Sport Pilot. But if you want to fly for a career it’s a different set of obstacles. My understanding is it’s hard enough to break into a high paying pilot career without such a history.
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OTOH, there are certain high-paying pilot careers that aren’t concerned with medicals or a few felony convictions....


:devil:
 
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