709 Ride Question

bc2209

Well-Known Member
I was at my flight school today hanging out before a flight and overheard some instructors talking about 709 rides today. Apparently the FAA is doing some digging regarding an incident that happened.

The instructor brought up the point that there are few airlines today that will hire someone with a 709 on their record regardless of a successful 709 pass.

I was shocked and it has got me thinking a bit now that I will soon be starting my CFI training.

Does anyone have experience or know this to be true regarding airline interviews?

It has me a bit nervous on how vulnerable you are as a CFI. Any merit to that thinking?
 
It has me a bit nervous on how vulnerable you are as a CFI. Any merit to that thinking?
Of course you're vulnerable, just take every step to do everything by the regs and you'll protect yourself as best you can. CFI insurance never hurts either.
That said, I had a friend have a student crash and he got 709'd. It was a big mess but he passed and I believe is in class with a regional now, so I don't think it will kill your career or anything.
 
I'm pretty sure almost every regional at the moment would hire someone if they had a successful 709 ride. An instructor who worked with me had to take one because one of his students on a solo had a runway incursion at KSAT. It was busy on the frequency and the student got confused.
 
I'd be willing to bet that said flight instructor has very little experience in aviation outside of his fast track bubble. Sounds good, hard to dispute....skygod to the rescue.

I know a few guys that have great jobs and 709s in their logbooks. Nothing to fear.
 
Is there a permanent record of the 709 that the airline would/could pull?

Yes. But if you pass it and can explain what happened on your interview it won't matter.

There are plenty of guys flying at airlines who made mistakes in the past.
 
A 709 ride does not qualify as a Certificate Action, provided it is passed successfully. As such, a 709 is not something that would ever need to be disclosed in the future.

Now, if you fail said 709 ride, or if an Enforcement Action was started at the same time as the 709, then this would constitute Certificate Action, and would be reportable.
 
Technically the FAA can 709 any pilot at any time, so just having done one isn't really a big deal as long as you pass.
 
I got my letter, so did a few hundred others due to a DPE thanlt was being "investigated" and everyone in a 4 year period was required to do a recheck...

My buddy lost all of his helicopter ratings because he could not find a school with schwackers or the money to do it in the alloted time...

As a side note I did my ATP and Hawker type rating as the substitute for the 709...
 
If a DPE is being investigated, how far do they go back In his/her history? It seems extremely unfair if one was flying professionally (121/135) and had to redo their commercial check ride from three years ago because their DPE screwed up. Pretty sure I'd contact a lawyer if that was the case.
 
Mine was 4 years ago... was 135 in a jet for two of them... they were looking into a 4 year window... I believe lawyers have been contacted
 
I believe I have read that often if you have taken a check ride of some type since the check with the questioned DPE, the 709 won't be required. More accurately it will be accepted in lieu of.
 
709s won't affect you ability to be hired any more than speeding tickets or failed checkrides will. It might be something the airline looks at, but by that point you are actually being interviewed so you will have to opportunity to explain what/why/how etc. Once you make it to an interview the onus is on you to sell yourself (positives and negatives) to the airline. Sell them the fact that you are a more rounded aviator with better hands and improved decision making skills and it will likely not have any significant effect on your chances. Try to cover it up, explain it away, quibble about the results, and defend yourself as the innocent one and it may (or may not) have an impact on whether the company hires you!

Long story short, not a career killer!
 
If you take a 709 ride and pass, it drops off your airman record after 2 years. At that point you can answer "no" to any related questions. When I was hired at my first 121 gig a few years ago, I had a 709 as a cfi that I had passed about a year prior. It was never even mentioned during/after my interview and background check.
 
Back
Top