I screwed up

A

Anon

Guest
30 years ago I was struggling in college, was forced into a university psychiatrist visit by my parents, prescribed antidepressants after a 5 minute visit. I never took them and promptly forgot about the entire thing once I found a major I enjoyed. Began flying a few years later. You see where this is going.

5 years ago, I was dealing with some things. Saw a therapist, was diagnosed with another mental condition that would otherwise be certifiable, but when he asked about psychiatrist visits, it triggered my memory and I remembered that one from 30 years ago. I grounded myself as soon as I found out (in reality, I haven't flown solo in over 15 years, just done some BFR's). I also have prediabetes and probably sleep apnea, and I'm not stupid. I'm not flying again. Period. I know that.

My concern is, I now have an omission on more than one medical application. I don't mind never flying again. I don't even mind having my certificate yanked. I do mind going to prison for being stupid and forgetting about that visit. Is it lawyer time?
 
The statute of limitations for criminal prosecution triggered by a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001(a)(2), Making a False Statement, is five years from the time the false statement is submitted to an agent or agency of the federal government. I'm not a lawyer, but I have researched this. I don't believe you have a problem, but if you want to fly again I believe current policy is that if you self-report previous omissions the FAA is unlikely to take enforcement action. Your best bet is to talk to an aviation attorney for guidance. If you're an AOPA member, you can try contacting their legal services group.

The statute of limitations for bringing charges under 18 U.S.C. Section 1001 is set by 18 U.S.C. Section 3263 at only five years. “The statute of limitations begins to run when the crime is complete.” United States v. Smith, 740 F.2d 734, 736 (9th Cir. 1984). Under 18 U.S.C. § 1001, the crime is complete when the false statement is submitted or mailed to an agent or agency of the federal government, regardless of whether it is received or relied upon. Id.; United States v. Heacock, 31 F.3d 249, 257 n. 13 (5th Cir. 1994). This is the pertinent moment the limitations period commences due to the statute’s use of the words “in any matter within the jurisdiction of the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of the government,” as it does not fall into the jurisdiction of the federal government until it is submitted to a federal agency. See United States v. Lutz, 154 F.3d 581, 586-87 (6th Cir. 1998).
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Anon said:
My concern is, I now have an omission on more than one medical application. I don't mind never flying again. I don't even mind having my certificate yanked. I do mind going to prison for being stupid and forgetting about that visit. Is it lawyer time?
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I think thousands of pilots have "omissions" of various kinds on their applications. The ONLY time I would worry about it is if you were still flying and the omission was an actual issue, rather than a technical violation.

It's not lawyer time. Save your money. The FAA has more important things to do than track down application discrepancies.
 
Stan Cooper said:
The statute of limitations for criminal prosecution triggered by a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001(a)(2), Making a False Statement, is five years from the time the false statement is submitted to an agent or agency of the federal government. I'm not a lawyer, but I have researched this. I don't believe you have a problem, but if you want to fly again I believe current policy is that if you self-report previous omissions the FAA is unlikely to take enforcement action. Your best bet is to talk to an aviation attorney for guidance. If you're an AOPA member, you can try contacting their legal services group.
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Hadn't considered a statute of limitations. Thanks. Will research this angle. Just feel so incredibly stupid (and now terrified) for not remembering. How do you forget something like that????
 
dbahn said:
I think thousands of pilots have "omissions" of various kinds on their applications. The ONLY time I would worry about it is if you were still flying and the omission was an actual issue, rather than a technical violation.

It's not lawyer time. Save your money. The FAA has more important things to do than track down application discrepancies.
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It's my understanding that a diagnosis is a diagnosis, accurate or not, and the burden of proving it's not accurate and never was is on me.

And yes, part of the reason I can't fly is that I'd never be able to track down this psychiatrist at this point. Records? Don't exist, except as a reference in my more recent therapist's notes. If the FAA ever wanted them, I'm doubly screwed.
 
find a aviation lawyer and ask


Seems like getting a medical record is almost worse than getting a criminal record.
 
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There are ways to resolve this, even resolving missing records. You can fly again. Heck, if you've held a medical on or after July 20, 2006 then you can go to BasicMed and fly with just an exam from your personal doctor and an online test. Or move down to sport pilot and you don't need anything but your driver's license.

If you want or need a FAA medical, contact a senior AME and be forthcoming about what happened. Small retainer fee and you can get into all the details of your case and what you need to do. It might be expensive, but it's a route back into the air.
 
The tradition is if at next contact with FAA (it can be bent metal, or re-medicaling, if you have a so plainly certifiable situation, they do cut you some slack. Just not so much on for-hire flight decks....

however if this was 30 years ago, know that the insurance databases only go back to 1996....

I won’t say much more here but can be reached via my tag line link....
 
kgruber said:
"Let sleeping dogs lie!"
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Yeah, my thoughts as well, especially in light of the OP's original statements:

Anon said:
I grounded myself as soon as I found out (in reality, I haven't flown solo in over 15 years, just done some BFR's). I also have prediabetes and probably sleep apnea, and I'm not stupid. I'm not flying again. Period. I know that.

My concern is, I now have an omission on more than one medical application. I don't mind never flying again. I don't even mind having my certificate yanked. I do mind going to prison for being stupid and forgetting about that visit. Is it lawyer time?
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I don't think that there's a snowball's chance in hell that prison (or even criminal prosecution of any kind) is a realistic concern in this case, at least as it's stated by the OP.
 
Thanks all. Talked to Dr. Bruce, and from what I understand, it's not all that fixable as things stand now, in a weird paradoxical way (could promise to never accidentally omit again and possibly get another medical as long I'm stable under a doctor's care, but can't get under a doctor's care in the first place because I'm currently considered stable and "in remission"). I'd say I misunderstood things, but that sounds like FAA logic to me.

Lesson learned. Write down all your doctor visits - and remind your newly free kids to do the same. Even if you're not a pilot.
 
One last question, then I'll be out of everyone's hair, I hope. I let my AOPA membership lapse (because, you know, I haven't flown in a decade and a half). Is it worth rejoining for the legal help, or I am ok to go find a lawyer on my own?
 
anon said:
One last question, then I'll be out of everyone's hair, I hope. I let my AOPA membership lapse (because, you know, I haven't flown in a decade and a half). Is it worth rejoining for the legal help, or I am ok to go find a lawyer on my own?
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Given your "never gonna file another application, never gonna fly" stance, I would contact a lawyer, perhaps from the list, perhaps not, before joining. I suspect a short consultation would give you a more realistic assessment of your risk than "OMG! What if..?"
 
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I've come to the realization that the lawyer concern is part of my problem and not exactly rational. And after talking with the spouse, maybe it's time to work on getting on getting certified. If I can get past the embarrassment, that is. Consult with an AME before anything else, right? Even before getting on SSRI's? (At this point I don't think the order will change anything, since they might help even if I can't ever fly again, but want to make sure)
 
anon said:
I've come to the realization that the lawyer concern is part of my problem and not exactly rational. And after talking with the spouse, maybe it's time to work on getting on getting certified. If I can get past the embarrassment, that is. Consult with an AME before anything else, right? Even before getting on SSRI's? (At this point I don't think the order will change anything, since they might help even if I can't ever fly again, but want to make sure)
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That is absolutely a question for Bruce.

and while perhaps not rational, fear of unknown consequences is certainly understandable.
 
I'm working on getting an appointment with an AME set up.

The problem becomes, if I forgot this until decades later, what else am I forgetting? I suspect nothing, but getting old medical records so I can verify is impossible, and I know I need to go into this 100% honest. There are no records of that psychiatrist visit from decades ago - I called the university - and after trying to track down some PCP records from around that time and shortly after, I'm told most are trashed after 7-10 years. I thought of going the insurance route, but with job/insurance company changes, I can't remember everyone who's insured me through the years. I did dig through my paper records at home for a hint, but I work on a 10 year disposal, so nothing there, either. Has anyone been successful in getting old records?
 
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