Not sure if I'm screwed

[picklewiggle]

When I was 19 my license was suspended twice for failure to respond to a speeding ticket in the mail. I was homeless and simply missed it. No drugs or dui involved.

Well 10 years later I enrolled in flight training and got my 3rd class. For 18v I cannot recall definitively if I checked yes. I recall at the time thinking it was only for dui or drugs but remember questioning myself. I genuinely and sincerely do not remember if I checked yes. I vaguely remember typing an answer there but not sure. That was 6-7 years ago.

I was talking to a buddy recently who advised it needed reported. I recently did basicmed and one item is regarding dmv history.

As I cannot recall, should I preemptively report myself in the chance I did not check yes? Nothing has been said in 6 years. But concerned about cert revocation.

Should I poke the bear or wait and see?

 

[Half Fast]

Bear poking is ususally a bad idea.

The problem is that you might have given false information on a federal form, which can be serious. OTOH, the odds of the FAA looking into this and taking action would seem quite slim, especially if you never intend to apply for another Class 3. Remember, they can't revoke a medical that's already expired. They'd have to take action against your certificate or bring charges against you. Would they do that for something this minor? Beats me.

If you really just don't remember, why not request a copy of your medical records from OKC before doing anything? Maybe you did report correctly and you're worrying about nothing.

In any event, report it truthfully on your Basic Med form. The Basic Med CMEC doesn't go to the FAA anyway; your doc signs it and you keep a copy in your logbook.

From now on, keep copies of any and all forms and correspondence between you and the FAA!

 

[picklewiggle]

Bear poking is ususally a bad idea.

The problem is that you might have given false information on a federal form, which can be serious. OTOH, the odds of the FAA looking into this and taking action would seem quite slim, especially if you never intend to apply for another Class 3. Remember, they can't revoke a medical that's already expired. They'd have to take action against your certificate or bring charges against you. Would they do that for something this minor? Beats me.

If you really just don't remember, why not request a copy of your medical records from OKC before doing anything? Maybe you did report correctly and you're worrying about nothing.

In any event, report it truthfully on your Basic Med form. The Basic Med CMEC doesn't go to the FAA anyway; your doc signs it and you keep a copy in your logbook.

From now on, keep copies of any and all forms and correspondence between you and the FAA!

Thank you for your insight

I definitely made sure on current docs to report correctly. I'll look into requesting a copy of my medical first thing. Previous copy was destroyed in a flood and I didn't keep digital copies back then.

 

[Palmpilot]

When I was getting ready to fill out the BasicMed form for the first time, I requested my FAA medical records so that I could make sure I didn't leave out anything that I had previously reported.

 

[bbchien]

Ask for you FAA medical record. 405-954-4821.

 

[bflynn]

When I was 19 my license was suspended twice for failure to respond to a speeding ticket in the mail. I was homeless and simply missed it. No drugs or dui involved.

Well 10 years later I enrolled in flight training and got my 3rd class. For 18v I cannot recall definitively if I checked yes. I recall at the time thinking it was only for dui or drugs but remember questioning myself. I genuinely and sincerely do not remember if I checked yes. I vaguely remember typing an answer there but not sure. That was 6-7 years ago.

I was talking to a buddy recently who advised it needed reported. I recently did basicmed and one item is regarding dmv history.

As I cannot recall, should I preemptively report myself in the chance I did not check yes? Nothing has been said in 6 years. But concerned about cert revocation.

Should I poke the bear or wait and see?

If it was 6-7 years ago and you just did basic med, I would do nothing. In 4 years it will have been 10-11 years ago and according to a 2019 Supreme Court ruling absolute the statute of limitations is 10 years.

Do get the copy of your medical and keep it.

 

[mandm]

If it was 6-7 years ago and you just did basic med, I would do nothing. In 4 years it will have been 10-11 years ago and according to a 2019 Supreme Court ruling absolute the statute of limitations is 10 years.

Do get the copy of your medical and keep it.

Is that ruling for FAA only or what were the conditions for an absolute 10 year statue?

 

[bflynn]

It’s the federal standard. It’s slightly more complicated than that but the ultimate limit is 10 years.

If you go back to a FAA medical be sure to keep them to ensure your consistency.

 

[midlifeflyer]

It’s the federal standard. It’s slightly more complicated than that but the ultimate limit is 10 years.

If you go back to a FAA medical be sure to keep them to ensure your consistency.

I haven't read it. Whats the case?

 

[dbahn]

Getting your records from the FAA is one of the best bargains around. You pay for postage only and I don't know of any downside to requesting them or keeping them in your own files.

 

[bflynn]

I haven't read it. Whats the case?

I'm looking at it again and reading it more closely, I think it applies to something else. The case was Cochise v US and covered billing fraud for security services in Iraq. The Court clarified the difference between a 6 year limitation to bring a fraud case by the government vs a 3 years after discovery limitation in a qui tam case (brought by an individual on behalf of the govt.). The govt is restricted to 6 years, but an individual must do it within 3 years after discovery. In either case it cannot be done after 10 years. Hunt, bringing the case on behalf of the govt, discovered the fraud and filed the case after 6 years. A lower court dismissed the suit, but the Supreme Court clarified it was 2 different situations.

That's specific to the False Claims Act. I think the 5 year statute applies here.

Which brings something weird - if someone young lied and wasn't caught, they let their 5 year medical expire for one day before submitting the next one and they can't be charged for the first lie. But us old guys who can't remember what we had for breakfast don't have that luxury.

 

[midlifeflyer]

I'm looking at it again and reading it more closely, I think it applies to something else. The case was Cochise v US and covered billing fraud for security services in Iraq. The Court clarified the difference between a 6 year limitation to bring a fraud case by the government vs a 3 years after discovery limitation in a qui tam case (brought by an individual on behalf of the govt.). The govt is restricted to 6 years, but an individual must do it within 3 years after discovery. In either case it cannot be done after 10 years. Hunt, bringing the case on behalf of the govt, discovered the fraud and filed the case after 6 years. A lower court dismissed the suit, but the Supreme Court clarified it was 2 different situations.

That's specific to the False Claims Act. I think the 5 year statute applies here.

Which brings something weird - if someone young lied and wasn't caught, they let their 5 year medical expire for one day before submitting the next one and they can't be charged for the first lie. But us old guys who can't remember what we had for breakfast don't have that luxury.

Yeah, there are several statute of limitations cases out there, but the ones I've seen deal with specific statutes rather than some super-statute that covers everything. There are some generic ones. The federal criminal statute of limitations is 5 years unless otherwise stated. Otherwise stated includes capital offenses, which have no statute of limitations.

The answer to @picklewiggle's question is a bit more nuanced. I agree with @bbchien that the first step is to obtain the records and determine what if anything was innocently misrepresented. Do you want to "poke the bear?" Maybe. Maybe not. Generally speaking, if it's something that would matter, it is going to be better if the FAA hears it from you than finds out another way, but the best course of action is to make a decision in consultation with a competent professional.

 

[BillTIZ]

When I was getting ready to fill out the BasicMed form for the first time, I requested my FAA medical records so that I could make sure I didn't leave out anything that I had previously reported.

I quickly instruct all of my students to keep a copy of every piece of paper submitted to the FAA, whether it be an application for a rating or a medical certificate.