Can I fly with a green dui

O

Offthegrid

Filing Flight Plan
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offthegrid
I know there are many posts about DUIs but I haven't been able to find a thread on this. I'm about to turn 20 and got a DUI when I was 17 for smoking pot. The DUI charge was dropped and I had a plea and abeyance that I completed for paraphernalia and possession charges. These were before I was 18. They do not show on a normal background check (I get background checks done for work bimonthly)
All the flight schools I've talked to have told me it will not be an issue, but I don't want to invest that much money and time into a dream if it will be impossible. Does anyone have experience with this that can shed some light for me?
Also, I am drug free I know people will ask and comment on that. I am clean and have had counseling.
 
If it's not in the "database" it never happened.

Might be worth the money to run one of those FBI background checks on yourself, just to double check.
 
It'll show on the FBI check. Expungement is a state notion. The feds never expunge anything.
 
Better to disclose it, jump through whatever hoops they want to establish you're clean, the pursue your flying. You won't regret doing it the right way.
 
Well let me ask you this, OP, you say the charge was dropped. You don't have a DUI. Were you arrested, or just issued a ticket?
 
LDJones said:
Better to disclose it, jump through whatever hoops they want to establish you're clean, the pursue your flying. You won't regret doing it the right way.
Click to expand...
This. Just because it's not in the database doesn't mean it never happened.
 
The legal result is not relevant. Were you arrested? Yes. Were you charged? Yes. So when the medical asks these questions, they aren't asking about whether or not a federal background search is going to find them, they're asking you, ON YOUR INTEGRITY, did you do it. I'm a little disturbed at the attitude that you want to hide a potential problem. There is a reason they ask and a reason they deny active pot smokers from flying.

Now if it was all a mistake and you were stopped with a dime bag of oregano while driving home from Whole Foods then you say that. If it was something a little less innocent then you explain what happened and then go do stupid pilot tricks until they are satisfied. Or just flight sport.

So the question - Can you fly (someday)? Yes, it will just take some extra leg work first and maybe some self-sacrifice on your part.
 
Yes I was charged and arrested but I spent no time in jail. I passed my sobriety test and jumped through all the hoops. I would love to fly even if it's not commercial for a major airline and just a small local company but I didn't know if I would be completely barred from doing so and that's why I started the thread.
 
One dui for booze will not likely hurt you at a major airline if you are honest about it.

Weed??? Not sure. I don't know if that one has been widely tested yet.
 
Just an FYI....

Juveniles do not receive convictions and are not arrested. They are detained. They must be tried as an adult to receive a conviction.

We're your prints rolled?
 
Offthegrid said:
I know there are many posts about DUIs but I haven't been able to find a thread on this. I'm about to turn 20 and got a DUI when I was 17 for smoking pot. The DUI charge was dropped and I had a plea and abeyance that I completed for paraphernalia and possession charges. These were before I was 18. They do not show on a normal background check (I get background checks done for work bimonthly)
All the flight schools I've talked to have told me it will not be an issue, but I don't want to invest that much money and time into a dream if it will be impossible. Does anyone have experience with this that can shed some light for me?
Also, I am drug free I know people will ask and comment on that. I am clean and have had counseling.
Click to expand...

If you take the time to read this forum on this subject over the years, Doc Bruce explains the how the database works. When you get arrested, the local PD inputs you into the local arrest database. Within 24 hours that entry is uploaded to the state. Within 24 additional hours that entry is uploaded to the feds. The feds now have a record of the arrest. They dont delete or expunge anything.

Now. A cop or a prosecutor will be able see a record of arrest (with no conviction) in your state, unless you've had some sort of record expunction in your state.
A Federal background check will ALWAYS be able to pull up the record of the arrest, from the FBI files, no matter if the state expunged it or not.

So when a government entity runs a federal background check that taps into the FBI database, they will find it. So when a Government entity asks "have you ever been arrested" you need to understand THEY WILL FIND THE ARREST even if you cant currently find a record of it. If you answer NO, knowing the answer is YES, that is DECEPTION. That will open up a bigger can of worms for you than if you just be open, honest and truthful.

Similar thing happened to a buddy of mine. He was active military, with a nursing license, and was unfit for duty due to alcohol and received an article 15 (nonjudicial punishment). Some states will consider this the equivalent of a misdemeanor. In the process of renewing his nursing license in Texas he answered "No" with regards to the relevant questions. It resulted in board action with restrictions against his license.
 
Thanks for all the input guys. I'll properly mark everything and I'm glad to hear it won't completely stop me from flying I may just have to go through more hoops
 
Just be honest, explain yourself, and you will most likely get a pass... Honesty and being upfront is key.
 
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