Realistically, how bad are checkride failures on your record?
Posted by JJ5597L@reddit | flying | View on Reddit | 123 comments
Currently looking at a second career as a pilot, preferably with a 121 carrier, when I retire from my current job. I’m almost done with my PPL and want to go all the way to my CFII to build hours until I’m ready to apply. I’ve been seeing a lot of posts in the past about checkride busts, unfair DPEs, and deaf FSDOs and how it could really screw up your hiring process. I was curious, how bad exactly are those busts on your record? If it’s one time and you explain it away and how you learned from the experience are you still “safe”? Or is it 2 or more do hiring boards really shy away from you? Is there a way to come back from it and still back from it and still be successful? I haven’t heard of many pilots failing more than 1 if any checkrides at all but I would be naïve to think it doesn’t happen and that there’s no way to go about it and still come out alright.
TLDR: just your average student pilot getting rattled over checkride stories.
kristephe@reddit
Can't speak to this, but just encouraging you to focus on your training and make sure you're prepared for each checkride. Seek second or 3rd CFI opinions on readiness and look for others to do mock orals with you. Also, make sure your CFIs or others know the DPEs and can speak to their personality and reputation. I'm 5 for 5 on checkrides and I deliberately sought out DPEs that I did my own research on to find fair, kind individuals.
saxmanB737@reddit
Have 3 busts on my record and I’m a legacy captain now. 1 CFII oral, 2 121 failures, one of them being the oral. Note that my last failure was 2008 and I told myself not to fail anymore and haven’t. So lots of time has been since the last one.
ArchiStanton@reddit
When did you get hired at said legacy?
casualdogiscasual@reddit
Oral good, don’t suck! Wait…
PhillyPilot@reddit
I hear that you’re screwed once you fail 121. Did you have to fly 135 after?
Ludicrous_speed77@reddit
Having a decade of training success afterwards will really reinforce the idea of “he just had a bad day”.
saxmanB737@reddit
I have never flown 135. I was never fired nor asked to resign. I took another check ride and continued with the company.
Greenbench27@reddit
I’m chief pilot of a 135 and when I hire and see you have multiple failures I start asking a lot of questions. Failing your CFI once doesn’t come into play but if you’ve failed the same ride multiple times I think that’s a bad look. 1-2 fails isn’t the end of the world but when you have 3+ I question your competence as an airman.
kw10001@reddit
The only absolutely bad thing to do is lie about it on your application or in your interview. Own your mistakes and be ready to answer questions about what happened and what you learned.
spacecadet2399@reddit
My airline won't hire you with more than 2 busts in the last 2 years, or 3 total. They do really only look at "necessary" checkrides, so you could probably get by with a bust on a tailwheel endorsement or something.
But that's the rule. Every airline has their own. Sometimes they may change depending on the hiring environment, but I'll bet they don't change as often as people think. Even if you get an interview, that doesn't mean you're getting hired. But in times when pilots are really in demand, it might mean that you could wow them so much in your interview that they make an exception to whatever the company rule actually is. But generally, those rules don't actually change much.
OtterVA@reddit
It depends… more than 2 in the distant past and it’s gonna start to get dicey depending on the hiring environment. 5? Count the legacies out even in a good hiring environment.
CoolDiscussion637@reddit
I’ve seen it all, director of training at a few 135s, now 121 major pilot. Still actively CFI. Yes there are asshole DPEs out there, yes the FSDOs can suck. All true. HOWEVER, at the end of the day it is very apparent to the company looking to hire you how big of a deal your failures are. Fail instrument rating twice? Bad look. CFI initial? No big deal. Private first try? Probably ask a few questions but not going to be make or break.
Your attitude in answering for your failures makes all the difference.
GoofyUmbrella@reddit
How is the applicant unprepared if the examiner throws a curveball to collect a retest fee?
brongchong@reddit
I’ve never heard of an examiner that busts someone to collect a re-test fee. Not even one example. Examiners want you to pass. It sucks telling someone they have failed.
NuttPunch@reddit
I actually know of a DPE who lost his DPE status over multiple fails and discontinues for a retest fee. I believe he’s in litigation now. So it definitely happens
GoofyUmbrella@reddit
Well it might suck for you, I promise you there’s some shady individuals in this industry.
No_Cauliflower_5163@reddit
The pilot above said it perfectly. And I’m gonna tell you that there is no shortage of business for DPEs. Making failures for cash is an urban myth. Yes the bottom of the bell curve might fail. It’s not rocket science. Don’t be at the bottom of the bell curve.
GoofyUmbrella@reddit
There may not be a financial motive. There is certainly a time motive. Some DPEs just don’t want to be there. There’s a guy in my area that people tend to avoid because he is always in a rush and tends to give applicants different experiences based on the day. The general consensus with him is that his mood is an indicator of whether or not he passes and fails. I could give you the phone number of 5 different CFIs that back me up on this.
Payton1394@reddit
It’s not a myth, however the motivation isn’t for cash, it’s for quota. I busted my PPL cause I’d failed to turn the master switch off at the end of the ride. I told my CPL and my CFI DPE that story. Both of them independently said that my PPL examiner must not have had a bust in a while and he was looking for any excuse. Yes I messed up. And I’m not blaming the DPE for my failure. But it’s not a myth.
CoolDiscussion637@reddit
It’s happened to me! My point is you need to be that much more prepared. One mean examiner will not ruin your career. But realistically they are few and far between, so multiple failures are a red flag.
GoofyUmbrella@reddit
I’m glad that extra bit of preparation worked for you. Some aren’t as lucky.
joshsafc9395@reddit
Sometimes you just catch an unavoidable L on the day sure. Doesn’t change the fact that the overwhelming majority of busts stem from underprepared students
GoofyUmbrella@reddit
Yeah I agree. However I still believe there’s way too many solid applicants who get screwed over.
hate737@reddit
Yup. If you come across as still bitter and upset about training failures you had years ago it speaks a lot to how you will handle set backs in training at the companyz
NuttPunch@reddit
The thing I hate is that it’s fine to be upset and bitter. However in hiring we’d rather you lie with a rehearsed answer as if that’s somehow better
PsyopBjj@reddit
Why is CFI initial no big deal but private is something that has to be explained?
The very first go of flying and practicing and being tested on it; vs like the fourth individual incidence of learning and being tested on a respective subject
CoolDiscussion637@reddit
You don’t need to be a good teacher to fly an airplane. You do need to be good at flying a plane to get a pilot’s license.
PROfessorShred@reddit
Cant say from experience but its my understanding that how you answer is more important than what you answer.
If you just go on and on about how the DPE was well know as being a bad examiner and was just out to get you and your instructor didn't teach you the right stuff and its everyone else's fault but your own it's not going to go well.
But if you say the cross wind component was eithin your personal minimums but inly just, and forcasted to get better but instead started gusting worse during the checkride and you had a lot of external pressure to complete the checkride on that day and in hind sight would have discontinued or not gone up to begin with if you had to do it over and because of that have since learned from and lived by not giving into external factors from that experience and adjusted your personal minimus accordingly. Would be a much more favorable answer.
Traditional_Art_5508@reddit
I know someone who failed PPL, instrument and commercial 🤗
grumpycfi@reddit
The more you have the worst it is. Training failures as a professional are the worst. CFI and maybe PPL are the most forgiveable.
But for every bust story you read on here there's 10 passes. And almost every "the DPE screwed me" story has more to it and the DPE probably didn't screw them. The FSDO, well, honestly they aren't involved in this shit so I'd file that with dubious DPE tales.
I'm not saying sometimes you don't get unlucky. But the number of people who weave tales where even their version still makes them sound wrong is numerous.
xia03@reddit
I think in the majority of busts it takes a series of errors, or an egregious mistake, before the DPE finally says - ok that's enough, you will have to come back. You have an option to discontinue also, which is not a bust.
It seems that one has to really screw up multiple times and press on, to actually fail a checkride. No one ever admits to it though :)
GoofyUmbrella@reddit
I don’t agree, I’ve been around the flight school for years I’ve seen way too many solid applicants get fucked over by shady examiners.
xia03@reddit
they can "fuck you over" only if you don't perform to the ACS in their judgment. This myth of a DPE who is failing perfect students for no good reason is a reddit perpetuated bull crap.
GoofyUmbrella@reddit
Sorry but that’s just a bunch of crap.
LuminousWave@reddit
This repeatedly displayed attitude towards checkrides concerns me if you’re actively signing people off
xia03@reddit
if your solid students are failing more than you like maybe the flight school you are with is not as hot as you think? so easy to blame the dpe. just saying
RaidenMonster@reddit
The DPE’s in the city I lived in were “known” to bust everyone on their CFI initial the first go around. “No one knows everything and they are gonna find it.”
So I flew a state over to someone who was regarded as fair. Didn’t pass everyone but didn’t have an ax to grind either.
GoofyUmbrella@reddit
Yeah you gotta travel a bit to find some of those good DPEs. Which means more $$$. Definitely worth it to save your career.
grumpycfi@reddit
You don't have an option to discontinue just because you aren't performing to standards. You can discontinue if you feel you can no longer meet safety minimums, such as weather, or you feel ill, or the plane is no longer working properly. But you can't, nor should you be able to imo, just get a discontinuance because you were having an off-day.
But yes, generally a fail is because of several mistakes that were either unnoticed or uncorrected. In fact that's written, more or less, into the ACS.
xia03@reddit
you are probably right, when the examiner takes over controls it's too late, but if it seems like you are one mistake from failing the DPE will probably let you find an excuse the stop the checkride.
"Maam, I do not feel 100% today, I'd like to discontinue the test and finish at another time". It takes some guts and a reality check to do it which most DPEs will appreciate
grumpycfi@reddit
The DPE is very likely to say "no, you're already outside of standards, sorry." I can't see a DPE admiring that, I think they'll see it as dishonest and an attempt to save your skin with a lie. I certainly would see it that way.
If you're actually not feeling well, fine. But performing poorly doesn't mean you're unwell, it could just mean you aren't ready.
jnelson111@reddit
Cfi and PPL are extremely forgivable. Southwest doesn’t even count ppl as a checkride failure from what I have heard, and CFI is probably the hardest faa checkride one could possible take.
Flying_in_place@reddit
Not a big deal as long as you don’t have an excessive amount or fail the same one multiple times.
ObeyYourMasterr@reddit
Pro tip: don’t get rattled over checkride stories if you haven’t taken one
Final-Muscle-7196@reddit
Well, since on the topic, what about the written portion of the licenses, do those tests play a factor in hiring potential?
GoofyUmbrella@reddit
It depends on the environment. I failed 4. Probably going to have to get more than 1,500 but with enough hard work and perseverance I’ll be okay.
Someone on here failed 10. Lifer at Mesa I believe. Still lives a better life than most. So just decide what’s important for you.
Also, Reddit tends to attract the elitist crowd who look down on others for not being as elite as they are. So take what you hear with a grain of salt when internet people tell you to hang it up after failing a few. I can tell you that I get a completely different perspective when I discuss primary training fails irl with hiring managers, other pilots than I do on Reddit.
0621Hertz@reddit
People on Reddit hide behind a somewhat of a shroud of anonymity, so they tend the type the first thing that’s on their mind rather that what they would actually say to a person face to face.
OP asked one of the worst questions to ask on r/flying. Even in this market there are people who have a checkride failure or 2 getting hired right now because they own it and have integrity.
mase-eat-ass@reddit
This
MassRaplstSerlalKilr@reddit
4 checkride fails. I haven't had any problems getting cfi jobs. Will report back when I goto the airlines lol.
My friend has 7 failures and had no problem getting to a regional and then a major.
He went to blueline so high failure rate is normal
grugmoment2@reddit
7 is absolutely bonkers
GoofyUmbrella@reddit
Someone posts around here with 10, they are a lifer at Mesa.
grugmoment2@reddit
Looks like there’s still a chance for me!!
GoofyUmbrella@reddit
Heh, same 🤣
No_Diver_2133@reddit
Still making 200-300k though, not bad, but still insane.
MassRaplstSerlalKilr@reddit
Pencil whipping logbooks for retesting was allegedly a thing for him at blueline.
No_Diver_2133@reddit
No way this is real.
GoofyUmbrella@reddit
Nah I believe it. Blueline students should have an * in their PRD
LigmaUpDog_@reddit
I would venture to say the majority of people that fail due to an “asshole DPE” are looking for anything to blame other than themselves. Take those stories with a grain of salt.
I’ve personally heard so many students complaining about unfairness and then why I pry a little deeper it’s obvious they don’t know their ass from their elbow and shouldve failed anyway.
I made it through the wringer with 0 failures, it’s possible, honestly, it wasn’t even that difficult. Going into check rides with failure on your mind is a good way to fail.
If you actually learn the information to an undeniable degree you will have no issues.
UtopianVirus@reddit
I know a couple guys in the recruiting department at a major airline. It’s not really a big deal as long as you don’t lie about it. Bad days happen and not everyone is going to be perfect they get that. What they want to know is that you learned from the failure and became a better pilot because of it.
hypoxic__@reddit
There’s not a ton of metrics to hire for pilots outside of personality.
If you have candidates that have the same hours and ratings for your pool then checkride pass % may be the only thing to distinguish the two, hence the importance in hiring based off the current state of the industry.
It’s not to say that one’s a better pilot, but based off statistics and the only testable metric companies will take the person with fewer or no busts. After all, they are more statistically likely to be more economically efficient with someone who doesn’t fail initial, and requires less weeks of IOE to be sent to the line. Because the candidate is more likely prepared to succeed and bring revenue. So, over prepare and excel every checkride and you’ll be fine. Worry more about your preparedness and less about failing and you’ll do better than most. This is easy to gauge by reading ACS/PTS!
Negative_Swan_9459@reddit
Things are returning to historic norms and it’s going to matter again.
I would say many of these stories about rogue DPE or FSDO are defection. For many people a checkride is the first time they’ve ever been evaluated one on one in their entire life. Usually there’s a long line of screw ups before the hammer is eventually dropped. You only get one skewed side of the story on the interweb.
GoofyUmbrella@reddit
Bootlicker
Negative_Swan_9459@reddit
Lemme guess… the big bad examiner was super mean on all those busts.
Payton1394@reddit
I have one failure, my PPL initial. I explained it and how I learned from it. No issue I’m even a check airman now. I have a buddy with 3 failures. No issue for him either.
When asked, don’t blame others. Admit your screwup, acknowledge what you learned and how it made you a better pilot.
iLOVEr3dit@reddit
I find it best to not spend much time reading checkride horror stories. It puts unreasonable stress on you. In my experience, most DPEs are not trying to fail you for no reason.
Take full responsibility for passing your checkride. Read the entire ACS. If there is something your flight instructor hasn't covered, let them know you'd like to go over it. Bad cfis to exists, but at the end of the day the acs is available to everyone. If your instructor didn't prepare you, get a new instructor before failing a checkride.
To actually answer the question, one checkride failure probably isn't that big of a deal. Multiple can be.
ltcterry@reddit
If you figure 80% passing on checkrides, then 40% of Pilots make it through CFI w/ no failures. (0.80\^4 is 41%) Yet almost all of the people seeking jobs will eventually get one of some kind.
When I had an inside connection at Endeavor hiring during the 2020-2023 era, he said unofficially they wouldn't talk to someone with four failures. I worked for a Part 135 business where the FAA POI said "'don't hire w/ more than three...' if you don't want to have to explain."
The pace of advancement may vary, but it's possible to overcome a lot of adversity going forward.
RaidenMonster@reddit
When everyone was getting hired at a regional during the “1500 hours and got a mirror” days, guy I know with 4 busts couldn’t get a call back.
findquasar@reddit
The regional I flew for had a filter on apps for more than 3 busts during that era.
sirrealizt@reddit
I’m a helicopter guy who’s starting flying airplanes (MEI is my next ride). I have 1 helicopter fail and 1 airplane. I see a lot of people estimating how many fails is a problem, especially with respect to filters. Does the helicopter fail “count” as a fail to the 121s using filters?
thisistherubberduck@reddit
Yes
Wasatcher@reddit
That's honestly BS. Helicopter operations are very different from airlines and you shouldn't be punished for a hangup while seeking an entirely different category.
HappyBappyAviation@reddit
It's less that it's applicable to the type of flying and more of a litmus test for how well you test and if you are trainable. A pilot with a bunch of busts, regardless of category/class/type, shows a pattern of lack of preparation, discipline, and trainability. If they have one or two busts with a clear indication of learning from each one, then it's not a problem at all. It's when you bust constantly and never learn from it is where airlines start to question if spending 10s of thousands of dollars on training, hotels, and flights with nothing in return or, worst case, an accident on line is worth it.
sirrealizt@reddit
Makes sense, and thank you.
pvsmith2@reddit
I know someone with 5 at a major now. He was hired during the hire anyone phase in 2015.
RaidenMonster@reddit
No one says it’s impossible, but neither is winning the lottery.
changgerz@reddit
guy i interviewed with at AA had 6 busts. dont think he got the job, but still had an interview, and a regional job
CurrentPianist9812@reddit
It trips legacy carriers out if you have a perfect record, really trips them out if you also have a clean driving and criminal record. I had both and it was like they didn’t believe me.
RaidenMonster@reddit
Does it? Most of the people in my regional class, at least according to them, never failed anything and everyone made it through training.
jewfro451@reddit
Props to you for having a clean training record and clean driving record.
--do you feel at one of your checkrides, maybe you were a little short of an PTS/ACS standard on a maneuver, but the DPE gave you a pass? I know its happened to me, but I can't remember which checkride.
Wonderful-Life-2208@reddit
Because anyone who tells me they’ve never had a traffic ticket is a liar and I’ll call them on it too. Just because you paid it doesn’t mean it never happened
CurrentPianist9812@reddit
40 and I have never had a traffic ticket in my life. That’s what background checks are for.
Wonderful-Life-2208@reddit
Then I’m 100% convinced you’ve never driven in your life. Your entire story is sketchy. That’s why they questioned it.
No_Diver_2133@reddit
I have never had a traffic citation either. I’ve been pulled over, never a ticket though. Don’t project onto people.
Wonderful-Life-2208@reddit
Cool story. I’m sure your employer would love to hear it
No_Diver_2133@reddit
Seethe harder.
CurrentPianist9812@reddit
Ever driven in Miami Dade county? Absolute lawlessness and nobody gets pulled over. You can do 100 down 95 and pass cops, nobody cares.
willflyforboatmoney@reddit
Facts.
Unless you use the HOV lane to pass someone..but that may have been Broward, don’t recall exactly lol
IamLeeroyJenkins@reddit
They really should not hold it against you at all if you have 1-2. The quality control in general aviation training is ridiculously poor. Instructors, examiners, flight school owners can all have their own ideas on how training should be done and some of them are trying to push their agenda through the system. The ACS attempts to standardize things but it is lacking. It can be general, unclear, and confusing in many areas and examiners are given wide discretion on how to interpret it and how to evaluate students. It is honestly all insane.
jewfro451@reddit
Finally someone notes the lack of quality control in GA. And loops in instructors and flight schools, not just DPEs.
srbmfodder@reddit
Had a DPE vector me for my CMEL instrument approach. I wasn’t set up right, said I was going around, he refused me going around (I should have just done it) and he failed me for being off course.
I’m at a legacy now, no other failures. Was a prior mil helicopter guy.
GoofyUmbrella@reddit
Ridiculous.
Turkstache@reddit
I have a bunch of failures, so I did some networking and managed to talk to a bunch of people currently in the hiring departments at legacies.
They all said the same thing, there are people who have checkride failures, DUIs, aircraft incidents where they were at fault (to include a pilot whose mistakes killed somebody).
They all said the same thing about recovering. If you can get your foot in the door at a part 121 company and succeed there, it is a big reset button on your career before.
For some people, all they need to do is get hired. For others, getting a new type rating does the trick... some have to go further like completing IOE or joining the training department or becoming a captain or becoming a LCA.
In addition to all of that, the more time flown (years employed as a pilot AND flight hours) between you and those incidents is going to help.
I also can't overstate the benefit of using prep services like Spitfire. They know all the ins and outs and how to groom your resume to be truthful while surviving a human evaluation.
And some of us are just going to have to endure shitty history. Many of my previous leadership and peers were absolutely flabbergasted when I told them I'm not getting hired for failures. They all enthusiastically offer recommendations. Some of them want me to come back or join them at companies/units they've moved on to.
But none of that matters, the paper is more important. But there is the best of it to made.
GoofyUmbrella@reddit
Love reading your stuff. Very refreshing. Thanks Turkstache
Remper@reddit
Question: how would they know if you have failed a checkride? Does the FAA share this information, or must you disclose it yourself?
To be honest, I'm from a different country and have a different industry background, it's kinda shocking to me that checkride failures are taken into account. It makes it seem like check rides are designed to let people pass rather than being an honest proficiency test. The person got their ratings; why would their failures along the way count? Isn't failing and trying again a normal process during training?
GoofyUmbrella@reddit
Yeah it’s on the PRIA. But in the US primary training checks are ridiculously unstandardized. It’s so dependent on the examiner you get that I too am surprised hiring managers use them to weed out applicants. To me the reason for failing would be more important than the actual # but I guess we have too many applicants and not enough time.
Wonderful-Life-2208@reddit
It depends on what the job is and what the failure was. If you failed an instrument ride because you busted minimums or didn’t follow ATC missed approach instructions, I’d be hesitant to hire you for a single pilot IFR gig since you have to be spot on with no one spotting you. If you failed the ride because you struggled on the oral, I’d chalk it up to nerves and not think much of it
FeatherMeLightly@reddit
Personally, never had one. From what I've read, 'a' checkride failure makes for a good 'what I learned' story. A failure every check ride? You'll be 135 or 91 prolly unless there is another 'pilot shortage '.
poser765@reddit
The importance of checkride failures depend on two things. 1, how many you have. 2, current hiring climate. The two are fundamentally linked.
Generally I’d say 2 is the default soft limit with a shit ton of exceptions. If we’re talking 2010 hiring, two is probably going to be a problem. With 2022 hiring then two probably wouldn’t even be a blip.
Something else to consider, you should take with a huge grain of salt any story you hear about unfair DPEs. Do they exist? Absolutely, but the are the exception, not the rule. It’s unbelievable how many students have a hard time own their ride failures. I’m not a DPE but I used to do checkrides. I’d unsat a student and debrief the instructor. Some of the things they said their students told them after the evaluation remarkably divorced from reality.
Traditional_Tip6294@reddit
It also depends on your ability to explain the failures. I’ve seen guys with only one failure not get hired because it was obvious they didn’t learn from the failure
poser765@reddit
Exactly this, which is sort of indirectly hinted at in my last paragraph. Ok maybe very indirectly, but you’re definitely on point. Own the failure, get better.
Traditional_Tip6294@reddit
Exactly sir
usmcmech@reddit
The ratio is important too.
4 busts in 1 year of primary training is a huge red flag. 2 busts over 30 years and 30 check rides is not unexpected.
poser765@reddit
Also true. There’s definitely a bunch of nuance here. 4 busts in a year is definitely bad, but 10 years of successful initials, upgrades, and PCs can definitely wash that a lot. Again assuming times are good and hiring is booming.
usmcmech@reddit
That’s why I tell guys who have 3 busts from initial training to go get a lot of add ons. SES, glider, MEI, gyro, ect (helicopter is too expensive) give you a chance to show that you’ve gotten over that hurdle.
The fact that it will make you a better aviator overall is a bonus.
poser765@reddit
Definitely seems like rock solid advice.
Plastic_Brick_1060@reddit
Once you're in the airlines, no one cares about initial training or early checks. That cuts both ways though, you could have an impeccable record until you screw up a checkride....
The usual best indicator of future performance is past performance so just do your current job to the best of your ability and get better everyday, the rest will take care of itself.
ElectronicStart4385@reddit
I think the worst part of having failures is having to talk about them every time you interview. Own them & express how you learned from them, without excuses.
Traditional_Tip6294@reddit
It’s bad. Much easier to explain why you never failed than why you busted a specific ride. Is it the end of the your career… depends on how you are at interviews and how many rides you failed
ChicagoPilot@reddit
It really depends. I failed 2 (Instrument and CSEL), but when I interviewed with a legacy I had 7 years of a perfect 121 record to point to as proof of learning and improvement. Personally, I wouldn't want more than 2, but again, it depends on when those failures occurred. Any Part 121 failure is going to be a big deal, whereas a PPL or Instrument failure is less so, only because theres likely going to be a lot of time since those failures happened to show that you have figured out how to properly prepare for check rides or overcome anxiety, whatever it may be.
INTPtree@reddit
A related question; do checkride records not get shared between countries under ICAO? Does an Indian national who gets ratings in the USA and go to work in India get to pretend that they never failed any checkrides?
Flaky-Spinach9951@reddit
The answer to this question unfortunately is dependent on ethnicity and gender. Go ahead and down vote me all you want, but it’s an unfortunate truth.
jackintheboxtacoguy@reddit
really depends on the time. i got hired back in November with 1 failure. failed my multi. explained how it was my mistake and i should’ve been more prepared, and how I became a MEI to improve my knowledge and ensure my failure would allow me to teach others everything and get them super prepared for their rides. Redemption was a good solution in their eyes and showed that a failure allowed me to grow. they wanna hear what u learned and that you aren’t blaming other people. but right now it’s a different story, they’re super selective but that’s not something you can predict so do you’re best!
ComprehensiveEar7218@reddit
I'm a legacy airline pilot with zero failures on my record. You should be focused on being prepared for checkrides and passing on the first attempt, not worrying about failure and other peoples' records.
DarthStrakh@reddit
Yeah this is a dumb statement. He said in his own post he was talking about other people's unjust failures. He's referencing several other posts over the last few weeks from people who had unjust failures. Such as the guy with a dpe that was so dead he couldn't hear the callouts he was making and failed him.
He's asking a simple question about how the process works lol, this isn't indicative of his motivations.
NonVideBunt@reddit
As others have said, it depends. But I wouldn't worry about that and just focus on doing what you can to not be in that position. If you want to be a professional pilot, you're going to have to accept that you're coming into a profession where you will be constantly evaluated until the day you retire. Just comes with the territory.
jnelson111@reddit
I failed 3.
KehreAzerith@reddit
It'll take a bit longer to get to professional jobs like the airlines but the best way to prove that you're not going to be a liability is by getting more experience and a clean record
hawker1172@reddit
Based on the current market really bad. If this is a second career you can’t afford to wait forever
wowmattsays@reddit
I’m a legacy airline pilot with THREE busts on my record. The truth is, the answer to this question is largely “it depends”. Personality and involvement and passion aid in getting noticed, and the hiring environment adds a lot of variability to what the airlines are looking for at any given time. You need to get off Reddit for a while and just dive into the books and actually flying. Focus on nothing but you and your airplane. Until you have every rating and are just building time to 1500, nothing else matters.
2ndCareerPilot@reddit
They don’t look great, and will probably be a filter for hiring criteria as the pilot applications continue to pile up and the airlines can be more selective. Probably depends on the rating too. I had a commercial seaplane failure (my only one) because I couldn’t get the damn thing on step taxi. Retested that item a month later without issue.
Both 121 airlines I interviewed with wanted to hear the story and then said “we don’t fly seaplanes, so this isn’t really a concern but thank you for telling us about it”. One of them hired me.
All you can do is be over prepared for your checkrides and book them with a DPE that has a reputation of being fair and pleasant to work with. They do exist.
ndem763@reddit
Completely depends on the hiring conditions what the cutoff generally is. But if hiring is good typically 1-2 are explainable, 3+ you’ll start having a hard time especially at reputable jobs. Recency and type of checkride you failed can also matter. Good thing you’re going to pass all of them!
Ludicrous_speed77@reddit
It largely depends on the current market but even during competitive times one bust during your primary training is not considered a huge deal.
rFlyingTower@reddit
This is a copy of the original post body for posterity:
Currently looking at a second career as a pilot, preferably with a 121 carrier, when I retire from my current job. I’m almost done with my PPL and want to go all the way to my CFII to build hours until I’m ready to apply. I’ve been seeing a lot of posts in the past about checkride busts, unfair DPEs, and deaf FSDOs and how it could really screw up your hiring process. I was curious, how bad exactly are those busts on your record? If it’s one time and you explain it away and how you learned from the experience are you still “safe”? Or is it 2 or more do hiring boards really shy away from you? Is there a way to come back from it and still back from it and still be successful? I haven’t heard of many pilots failing more than 1 if any checkrides at all but I would be naïve to think it doesn’t happen and that there’s no way to go about it and still come out alright.
TLDR: just your average student pilot getting rattled over checkride stories.
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