mmattmo
15th May 2012, 18:07
Hi there and may I thank you in advance for reading this, any feedback would be of great help.
I am am in the next couple of months due to commence my ATPL studies. As of this present time I am not sure whether to choose modular or intergrated.
However the reason I am on here now is that I am after some advice as to whether I should go ahead and start my pilot training. You see 11 years ago I was young, stupid and immature. I drove home the morning after a night out and ended up with a DR40 conviction for excess alcohol in short a drink driving offence. I was issued the minimum ban and a fine for £200. I have never been in any other trouble apart from on that one occasion and I have had a clean driving licence ever since.
According to the Rehabilitation of Offender Act (ROA) 1974, the driving ban was classed as spent as soon as the ban expired and the fine was classed as spent 5 years from the date of the conviction. What I understand about CRB checks and from reading up on the Home Office/CRB website is that - "A conviction classed as spent it will not show on a standard CRB check." However if an employer manages to gain permission to seek an enhanced CRB check, then both spent and unspent convictions are disclosed and therefore show up on the CRB certificate.
From my understanding, in order for an Employer to seek an enhanced CRB the job position needs to fulfill that of -
The Police Act 1997 (Criminal Records) Regulations 'prescribed positions'
I cannot see how the position of a Pilot fulfills the criteria for an enhanced CRB check, ( The Police Act 1997 (Criminal Records) (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2006/96/regulation/12/made) ) unless of course your potential employer claims that you can in some point of your employment come into close contact with children and/or vulnerable adults or children.
In addition to the above I found a policy document listed on the CAA website
http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/1859/20111125AdminPolicyAndNoticesV6.4.pdf
Page 6 (actually P9 of the PDF) of the document states -
Cessation Of Requirement For Air Traffic Control Officers (ATCOs) And Flight Engineers (FEs) To Declare Civil Or Criminal Offences,
When the UK CAA adopted Joint Aviation Requirements in 1999, pilots were no longer required to declare any civil or criminal convictions. ATCOs and FEs continued to complete the CAA MED46 form when applying for a medical certificate which meant they were obliged to respond to question 8 on the form: “Have you ever been convicted of a civil or criminal offence”.
To bring the certificatory requirements of ATCOs and FEs in line with those of pilots, with immediate effect, ATCOs and FEs are no longer required to respond to question 8 on the MED46.
When an AME invites a certificate applicant to complete the MED46, they should be informed that they are no required to answer question 8 and question 8 should be scored out on the medical form. August 2006
What I would like to know is before I go ahead and spend such a large amount on training to become a pilot is upon gaining my frozen ATPL will I be able to gain employment because of my spent conviction. Have you yourself or do you know of anybody who like me has had a conviction in the past but has managed to seek employment as a commercial airline pilot? All feedback positive or negative greatly appreciated.
I am am in the next couple of months due to commence my ATPL studies. As of this present time I am not sure whether to choose modular or intergrated.
However the reason I am on here now is that I am after some advice as to whether I should go ahead and start my pilot training. You see 11 years ago I was young, stupid and immature. I drove home the morning after a night out and ended up with a DR40 conviction for excess alcohol in short a drink driving offence. I was issued the minimum ban and a fine for £200. I have never been in any other trouble apart from on that one occasion and I have had a clean driving licence ever since.
According to the Rehabilitation of Offender Act (ROA) 1974, the driving ban was classed as spent as soon as the ban expired and the fine was classed as spent 5 years from the date of the conviction. What I understand about CRB checks and from reading up on the Home Office/CRB website is that - "A conviction classed as spent it will not show on a standard CRB check." However if an employer manages to gain permission to seek an enhanced CRB check, then both spent and unspent convictions are disclosed and therefore show up on the CRB certificate.
From my understanding, in order for an Employer to seek an enhanced CRB the job position needs to fulfill that of -
The Police Act 1997 (Criminal Records) Regulations 'prescribed positions'
I cannot see how the position of a Pilot fulfills the criteria for an enhanced CRB check, ( The Police Act 1997 (Criminal Records) (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2006/96/regulation/12/made) ) unless of course your potential employer claims that you can in some point of your employment come into close contact with children and/or vulnerable adults or children.
In addition to the above I found a policy document listed on the CAA website
http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/1859/20111125AdminPolicyAndNoticesV6.4.pdf
Page 6 (actually P9 of the PDF) of the document states -
Cessation Of Requirement For Air Traffic Control Officers (ATCOs) And Flight Engineers (FEs) To Declare Civil Or Criminal Offences,
When the UK CAA adopted Joint Aviation Requirements in 1999, pilots were no longer required to declare any civil or criminal convictions. ATCOs and FEs continued to complete the CAA MED46 form when applying for a medical certificate which meant they were obliged to respond to question 8 on the form: “Have you ever been convicted of a civil or criminal offence”.
To bring the certificatory requirements of ATCOs and FEs in line with those of pilots, with immediate effect, ATCOs and FEs are no longer required to respond to question 8 on the MED46.
When an AME invites a certificate applicant to complete the MED46, they should be informed that they are no required to answer question 8 and question 8 should be scored out on the medical form. August 2006
What I would like to know is before I go ahead and spend such a large amount on training to become a pilot is upon gaining my frozen ATPL will I be able to gain employment because of my spent conviction. Have you yourself or do you know of anybody who like me has had a conviction in the past but has managed to seek employment as a commercial airline pilot? All feedback positive or negative greatly appreciated.
