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DUI and Checkride Failures

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Commercial Pilot, FAA Regulations, Flight Instructor, General Aviation, Instrument Rating, Light Sport Aircraft, Private Pilot, Student Pilot

so recently I made the biggest mistake of my life and was arrested for a DUI. I’m just curious where my life is about to go from here do I change my career all together or is there even a chance for me to keep trying to build my time? 

I’m currently a CFI and have about 850 hours. I have about 5 total check ride failures including my CFI( 2 PPL, 1 IR, 1 MEL, 1 CFI) . Realistically not a great look on my resume and I’m curious if I should just get real and start working towards another career. I hate that I made it this far in my life and now I have to come to the hard realization that I may never achieve the goals I once inspired to have. 

please be respectful in the comments I know I messed up and the only thing I’m trying to do is figure out how I’m able to improve from this and never let a situation like this ever happen again.

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2 Answers



  1. KDS on Jul 24, 2024

    It is wise for everyone in aviation, not just you, to have a fallback plan in place. When having a degree was all that was important to the airlines, a lot of people got hired with degrees that aren’t the best for making a living. Later, when the airlines cut back or a medical condition takes them out of aviation, they are then trying to find a job without any real marketable skills.

    Whatever direction you turn, ensure aviation isn’t the only future avenue open to you.

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  2. Russ Roslewski on Jul 25, 2024

    I’m not going to address the DUI issue, there are literally thousands of threads about that on other forums and sites.

    As for the checkride failures:

    I have had a successful career in aviation, and other than my current job have never once been asked about checkride failures or even been asked for a resume. You don’t say what your goal in aviation is. If it’s to fly for the airlines, then the checkride failures may come up – I don’t know, I don’t fly for the airlines. But for most other jobs, from what I’ve seen, they just care that you have the certificates – checkride failures don’t even come up.

    However, if I were you, I’d take a real hard, honest look at myself and try to figure out WHY I was having so many failures. Five is an abnormally large amount. Do you have poor study habits? Lack of motivation? Something external like a lot of stress in your life (family medical situation, etc.)? Is it “checkride jitters”? The fact that you’re at 850 hours and did eventually pass all the checkrides suggests to me that you can do it, but maybe you’ve just been brute forcing your way through. Could it be that maybe aviation just isn’t for you, aptitude-wise? Maybe physically or mentally it just doesn’t all “click”?

    We all have strengths and weaknesses, and sometimes they don’t coincide with our desires. I have almost zero creative ability – I can’t draw, paint, sculpt, any of that, even though I’ve tried many times over the years. I just don’t have that ability – so I didn’t choose a career that required it, as much as I wish I at least had the option to. Sure, I could try to force my way through it, but that sounds like a terrible way to live.

    If your goal is to become a career pilot in almost any sort of turbine airplane, you may have checkrides as often as twice a year. So you need to look inside yourself and see if that’s really something you want to face.

    Good luck with your decision!

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