Something here doesn’t pass the smell test. Misdemeanor convictions stopping someone from a decent career needs explanation and details. Is this a fair and reasonable assessment? If we’re to debate the cons and merits of this situation then more needs to be told.
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Agreed WRT the merits of the system - it seems petty that minor offences would prohibit a Class 1 Medical (I have no idea of the actual regulation), but, like many minor infractions that blow up to be major - it’s the cover-up not the actual initial infraction that causes the issue.
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I’ll bet these offenses indicate a person not having good moral character.
We had a similar statement in our employment applications. I’ve hired people with many, many different problems and pasts. From minor driving incidents, to multiple felonies. But mark “no prior convictions” and have any kind of record? You are out of here so fast you’ll miss the door going by as you sail through it. It’s not about what you did. It’s that you lied about having done it. Seems the same issue is true here.
The guy should have said something about it–They look at medical information as telling the truth, not so much as what he’s done. Heck, the guy was probably a sniffer and took a chance that there might be some dirty underwear in there. Typical pilot. To qualify as a captain in the old days you had to have one divorce, two arrest (no convictions) or you might not make the check out program!
I would assume that the TSA was part of the trial to convict him on theft from luggage. I also would assume that TSA was “more than helpful” in contacting the FAA to follow up on the matter.
It’s all about the lies on applications, not what the lies were for. Do not lie on an application. It probably even states what the penalty for doing so is.
Look on the bright side … likely to have plenty of time to get fit enough to sail through the medical when he gets out…
My question has always been, why does the medical application ask about prior convictions? Unless they are for substance abuse, they really shouldn’t belong on the medical application form at all. Certainly they should be questions on job application forms, but not the medical application form.
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Lie about this, lie about that.
You cannot trust liars.
The medical application is often the most recent contact the FAA has with a pilot. Like it or not, it’s their ballgame.
Unstated circumstances are likely behind what looks like the use of his lying on the medical application as a convenient “handle” to remove Mr. Ojo from the playing field. Utilizing an easily prosecuted offense that may be only indirectly related to the prosecutors’ underlying motivation is a shortcut used all the time in the legal system. Many people may feel concerned about this, but right or wrong it is certainly ‘legal’.
The real question is if brushes with the law should even be considered relevant information to include in the process of declaring a person medically capable to safely fly an aircraft. Entwining unrelated objectives into a process that presumably is intended purely as an evaluation of medical fitness seems to be a bad idea.
One Observation…a Medical Certificate should be on the subject of Medical topics…general physical heath, mental health, and subsequent risk for flight safety. this should not be in any way shape of form a screening for criminal past. THAT should be at the depression of the employer. This is NOT an application for a secret clearance.
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The medical is the only piece of the pilot certification system that expires regularly, so it’s used as a mechanism for the FAA to catch up on “what have you done lately?” It is kind of screwy that they put that non-medical stuff on the medical application, but I’d much rather have the current arrangement than have pilot certificates expire every two years.
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Local and State law enforcement is not supposed to feed every misdemeanor case information up to the Federal level; it’s none of their business.
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This should worry every pilot. I would feel comfortable saying that upwards of more than 10 percent of active pilots dont disclose meds that they are on or doctors visits which are also required to be disclosed. Pandoras box has just opened. Why did the FAA not revoke his medical application vs issuing it twice?
Welcome to the high-handed world of Administrative Law, where the gov’t agency is delegated regulatory authority by Congress, and it not only writes the rules, but also serves as judge and jury.
Anyone remember when Bob Hoover’s license was suspended circa 1996 at an airshow on the whim of two FAA agents who were observing his aerobatic performance?
What happens to the FAA when it lies?
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So he’s in jail right now. And will be there for how long? I presume the DOJ considers him a flight risk so no bail? Seems extreme for what started as a misdemeanor. Oh, the irony—the FAA requiring anyone to be of good moral character!
I have known Ojo for over 15 years. He is a man of good moral character. It is sad that we live in a world where certain issues are not judged fairly. You shouldn’t just post things based on someone’s LinkedIn profile; please try to get your facts right. Ojo has been working for Kalitta Air for two years and is soon to be a captain. He was reporting for work at Cincinnati Airport from Dallas when he mistakenly picked up a bag that looked exactly like his, which he later returned. Believe me, this issue turned into a case of racism. The owner of the bag reported it to the police, and the police filed a case based on Ojo’s bag they found , with contained personal documents. The case was taken to court, but the policeman never returned Ojo’s documents. Ojo’s attorney misled him into taking a plea deal, which led to his conviction. Some weeks later, at Cincinnati Airport, the prosecutor saw Ojo in uniform and wrote a report to the FAA, requesting that Ojo be removed from flying. This is the little I know and how the FAA got involved. Based on this, if anyone knows a good experience aviation attorney who can help fight this case, please comment.
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Please kindly look at the last comment from smart
To be fair, just answer truthfully on your medical.
No racism, no aviation attorney needed.
It’s the unreasonable, highhanded and detrimental reaction to the disclosure of facts that encourages future suppression of the facts. Look at the mental health disclosure situation. A governing agency has a responsibility to accommodate basic human nature into the regulated operations it governs. Obstinately refusing to do so for so long is simply stupid and grossly irresponsible. It is bound to invite workarounds, with outcomes that may be worse than those that the regulators intended to prevent.
Yes, answer truthfully. And NO. Mistakenly picking up someone else’s identical looking baggage and returning it DOES NOT routinely turn into a misdemeanor conviction with further harassment and persecution seeking to deny employment. One has to be ignorant or willfully malicious to indicate that there is no racism evident and no further investigation or appeal is warranted… this is just how things generally turn out in these United States. The myopic focus on only the last transaction to argue the validity of the situation is just one of the ways that the ugly practice of racism continues to lurk around—even in the halls of justice—smearing the credibility of Americans. The unreasonableness and highhandedness in this case stinks of racism rather than simple error and if left unchallenged will only serve to discourage others from disclosing the facts on an application. Hasn’t the FAA learned from its failed policy on mental health disclosure?
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PETE P: Yep, it’s always about racism isn’t it? While racism (on all sides) does still exst, it actually seems that fear of being called a racist has lead to increasingly lax enforcement and charges being tossed or reduced. Just because you or someone else here claims this is all due to racism doesn’t make it true. I for one am tired of the race card being over-played. Remember the fable about the boy who cried wolf?
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I’d be irrational or terribly inexperienced if I concurred with your assessment that the issue is “always” about racism. I’m not in any position to claim that the commenter providing additional details is lying or crying wolf. As you pointed out, racism DOES exist and when I find what I believe are instances of that existence being used to treat people unjustly, especially under color of authority, I call it out.
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No, the pilot losing his job was all on him.
There were no racists around when he filled out his medical form.
If anything this REINFORCES pilots being honest on official documents.
Did he return the luggage only after he was contacted with police? When he returned it, were items missing from that bag? These are important points before we can decide between a claim of racism or if he was just a petty thief that got caught.
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HE should have called for his bag as soon as HE opened the wrong bag (especially of there were “important” papers inside it). The whole thing could have been sorted out in a few hours when HE saw HIS mistake and HE brought the wrong bag back. No need for police when you inform the airport and immediately bring someone else’s back back. If you just keep in then, well, that’s stealing.
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You’ve never been busy and left a bag to unpack later ? You’ve never been unfairly accused ? There are soooo many more Non-malicious ways, that most of these events could be explained, that it’s difficult to Not see the deck as repeatedly stacked against this pilot. If he knew he had not “stolen” anything, and had confidence in being cleared later, reporting no crime might well be the closest-to-right-possible thing to do in our intolerant impatient world. Take away white, established, and knowing how things work, and a great many people’s lives would spiral down the drain at first hiccup. I have no facts beyond what’s to be read here, but am struck by the lack of compassion expressed for someone who has probably been trying to do the right thing all along. Just short of captain suggests we are discussing a highly skilled person, who has accomplished all that despite existing while black, yet few seem inclined to even start with presumption of innocence. Excavating anyone’s life will expose stuff that can be misinterpreted, and it’s easy to find fault and place blame, especially with 20:20 hindsight. Why steal a suitcase, which just happens to look like your own, giving up your suitcase and important papers in the process ? Dropping everything to inform the FAA of such a trivial possible misstep seems like it reflects considerable preexisting bias. I hear enormous ignorance here of just how steeply uphill the lives of most people can be, not even counting racism.
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Funny, my comment on the current progress for racial issues was flagged. So much for being positive.
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A fellow once let me use his blue Rav,he said its in the parking lot with the key in it.I found a blue Rav in the parking lot,very luckily the key wasn’t in it,because it was a different Rav.Definately cannot speculate on the pilots actions,to grab the wrong bag and not check it until the hotel room,well,that might happen to more people.
Exactly! It’s funny how you stumble on what should have been the reasonably appropriate outcome but believe that it didn’t happen because of actions by the victim of racism rather than those who acted with malice. Apparently you missed the part that indicated “the owner of the bag contacted the police.” Over decades of trying to figure out how humans (including yours truly) can make an egregious mistake in interpreting or perceiving something which in hindsight is baffling how anyone could possibly misunderstand or misinterpret it in that way, I’ve come to the conclusion: A prejudiced mind is easily led astray; and prejudice (in the literal sense: pre-judging, deciding beforehand) is an overwhelming yet insidious influencer of rational thought in that it can make the senses perceive what is believed instead of reality.
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“Apparently you missed the part that indicated “the owner of the bag contacted the police.””
It’s NORMAL to fill out a police report when the airlines cannot find your bag, especially if it contains expensive items. I’ve filled out one once for this very reason. It’s not being “racists”, it’s the way the system works.
That is still all irrelevant to the story. Him NOT reporting the incident on the medical was the issue and that again is the way that the system works.
I remember reading about a principle of “ the punishment fits the crime”. Did we do away with that when social media came along?
Can you elaborate on what those safety and security threats might be related to the medical application? The crime should have been processed through local law enforcement.
What would a certificate have to expire. The Medical as I suggested should be a medical. Any other use is misleading. Employers have access to criminal investigations what else is the need for a 1 st class. Except to substantiate employment. And yet again what does this matter.