FNAEB or Voluntarily Terminate Flight Status..?

[Riptide80]

Ew, these words strike fear into all of us! Buddy in a sister squadron (no names) is thinking about voluntarily terminating his flight status. He's been a winged aviator for over 2-years. Anyway, since this never happens I was curious? If he volunteers to terminate, will he retain the right to wear the insignia (i.e. keep his pilot wings)? And if it goes to FNAEB, what are the odds they take his wings away from him in that scenario? I believe this is known as "Termination of Flight Status with:

Type B (1) - Retention of right to wear the insignia.

Whereas there's also:

Type B (2) - Revocation of right to wear the insignia. Revocation of this right is considered appropriate when board action is the result of dishonoring naval aviation or willful and flagrant violation of established rules, regulations, and directives. ​

It's my understanding that only mishaps and other incidents warrant a B2, and if a guy simply isn't good enough they usually get a B1? Is this true?

Any thoughts from you professionals? What have you seen or experienced in your careers? Can this screw up his chances of flying for civilians someday? I'm really curious to see how this goes down, hoping for the best for him but you never know!

Your thoughts please.

 

[Boomhower]

Can this screw up his chances of flying for civilians someday?

As in "Fly for an Airline"? I'm thinking, yes, it will screw up his chances.

 

[Harrier Dude]

I have a buddy who did this and he a) went to an FFPB (FNAEB for Marines), and b) got to keep his wings.

The only people who actually lose their wings are the guys who punt it flagrantly into the grandstands and then lie about it. It's a punishment.

They're not going to punish a guy who just wants to quit.

 

[squorch2]

Had a guy in my fleet squadron who didn't want to fly anymore. He's now a PAO in Naples. To the best of my knowledge there was no FNAEB convened for him.

 

[Fallonflyr]

I was once a FNAEB board member. As I recall there was "remove from flight status" and "remove designation" options. The first is for weak performance and the individual would keep his wings. The second was for doing something truely stupid or criminal and the wings would be yanked.

In regards to an airline job, lets just say that this topic will be the main highlight to any interview and most likely will not turn out well.

 

[SWACQ]

In regards to an airline job, lets just say that this topic will be the main highlight to any interview and most likely will not turn out well.

How so? Isn't this a very situationally dependent question?

 

[Recovering LSO]

If I was an interviewer and I saw two years of military flying on a resume - I would ask why only two years.

 

[A4sForever]

....voluntarily terminating his flight status.... Can this screw up his chances of flying for civilians someday? I'm really curious....

Disclaimer: I interviewed new-hire candidates at two major airlines, so I've probably got a bias ...

Your 'friend' would not have been hired at either one if 'he' voluntarily quit flying in the military. 'His' choice is a bad one for a person desiring to fly as a career with an airline.

Take two seconds & think about it: the airlines want people who are dependable and will ALWAYS show up for work w/ a positive attitude about the coming flight -- a positive attitude about the job of flying and transporting pax/cargo from "A to B" in general. If you (or him) don't wanna' fly ... or don't 'feel like flying' today ... or have 'quit' flying in the past (the reason for this thread) ...

Then riddle me this: why would the airlines hire you (or him) over 1000's of other candidates who WILL show up and do the job w/ a positive attitude each & every day they're on the schedule ... ???

Curiosity? Didn't that kill the cat ... ???

 

[Banjo33]

I have a buddy who did this and he a) went to an FFPB (FNAEB for Marines), and b) got to keep his wings.

The only people who actually lose their wings are the guys who punt it flagrantly into the grandstands and then lie about it. It's a punishment.

They're not going to punish a guy who just wants to quit.

Unfortunately, I know TWO pilots that did both of these and kept their wings. One became an Intel Officer, the other something like PAO. And I say "unfortunately", but don't mean it quite as harshly as it sounds. One was a great dude (nugget) that followed a bad plan by a more seasoned/senior lead who in turn balled up a jet.. But, I think he made a bad choice of sticking with story (lie) and it bit him.

 

[Harrier Dude]

Unfortunately, I know TWO pilots that did both of these and kept their wings. One became an Intel Officer, the other something like PAO. And I say "unfortunately", but don't mean it quite as harshly as it sounds. One was a great dude (nugget) that followed a bad plan by a more seasoned/senior lead who in turn balled up a jet.. But, I think he made a bad choice of sticking with story (lie) and it bit him.

The pilot who balled it up and then lied about it got his wings yanked.

I didn't know that his wingman quit over it. Was that a "quit before they yanked them too" decision?

I know both of those guys, but possibly not the other guy you said voluntarily quit.

 

[NavAir42]

I know two guys who were in this situation. Both were headed down the FNAEB road when they elected to voluntarily quit. They were both allowed to keep their wings. If they had been FNAEB'd I'm fairly certain they would have kept them. They just happened to be poor performers in the aircraft and weren't cut out for it. In both cases, they had no business being involved with professional aviation in either the military or civilian side. Even if your buddy is a solid pilot, quitting, like A4s said, screams otherwise.

 

[A4sForever]

threadjack follows:

"Hypothetical" question follows for you Jump-Jet guys who are 'in the know': ... what 'might' have been the circumstances surrounding a former USMC Harrier-driver who at present 'might' be working in the broadcast industry and whose father 'might' be a big-shot in a major east coast city ... ???

I heard he/she )) 'might' have left flying under what 'might' be described as cloudy circumstances ...

No names, please. PM if you feel it necessary.

/ threadjack

**edit** Got the answer to my interrogative -- MAHALO, Bruddah !!!

 

[Brett327]

To the OP, what are we dealing with exactly? Is your "friend" just not interested in flying anymore or is this a cockpit performance issue. Either way (and as others have said above) a non-hacker in Naval Aviation has zero chance of continuing with the airlines, so if that's his aim then he's got another thing coming. This kind of thing actually happens more than you might suspect and usually results in redesignation. I've seen both positive and negative outcomes.

Brett

 

[SWACQ]

I still don't see how you can apply a blanket statement that quiting in naval aviation is a career killer in the civilian world.

If a guy realizes that he's not as good as he needs to be, whether its as lead or -4 in 4vX self escort strike (as opposed to flying single ship pt A to pt B), and based on an honest self assessment realizes he needs to find something else to do, why would that follow him forever?

Granted he won't impress the majors leaving active duty, but I'd bet he could get some time as a CFI, flying light cargo (ie, not UPS or FEDEX), or some other small/private outfit.

Am I missing something from the original post or does any question about flying civilian automatically get answered in the context of flying for a major commercial airline? Perhaps that actually was the original question and I took it at face value.

Sent from my HTC EVO using tapatalk.

 

[Fallonflyr]

How so? Isn't this a very situationally dependent question?

Airline interviews usually have a HR person and a line Capt. The Capt's job is to weed out the BSrs and usually goes with the "would I want to be on a four day trip?" with this person call. I cannot think of a situation where a person who either quit or was FNAEB'd after only two years would be positive.