Fake airline pilot arrested

[Chock 17,769]

Well, I didn't think getting a kid to work ATC could be topped as a story, but apparently it can...http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8549954.stmAl

[tf51d 284]

Well, I didn't think getting a kid to work ATC could be topped as a story, but apparently it can...http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8549954.stmAl

Now that is scary! 13 years without a license? It makes you wonder, how many others are there around flying unsuspecting passengers.

[ZachLW 37]

Now that is scary! 13 years without a license? It makes you wonder, how many others are there around flying unsuspecting passengers.

It is scary! Though it's possible he can handle that thing better than other pilots rated in that type. 10,000 hours! Probably a member of this forum :(

[onurksn 1]

I'm not sure who is to blame here, certainly not the guy himself! :( How could he have clocked 10000 hours without getting caught flying for different European airlines... ? :(

[tf51d 284]

I'm not sure who is to blame here, certainly not the guy himself! :( How could he have clocked 10000 hours without getting caught flying for different European airlines... ? :(

Of course the guy himself is to blame, he's the one that forged his documents. Somewhere along the line someone should have caught it. Like when he goes for his periodic check rides!

[onurksn 1]

Of course the guy himself is to blame, he's the one that forged his documents. Somewhere along the line someone should have caught it. Like when he goes for his periodic check rides!

Naturally... :( I don't know if licenses are verified during check rides or any other way but this incident raises a serious question. Are there others like him?My guess is that he can't be the only one. I don't even want to imagine what the outcome of this would be in case of an accident, luckily for everyone this guy's record seems to be clean which is probably how he kept going.

[red1 0]

Absolutely surreal! Reminds me of the movie with Decaprio where he pretends to be a pilot...can't remember the name now.

[onurksn 1]

Absolutely surreal! Reminds me of the movie with Decaprio where he pretends to be a pilot...can't remember the name now.

I believe that would be Catch Me If You Can"

[Chock 17,769]

I'm willing to bet that a few of the hardcore simmers that frequent Avsim would have been able to pull off this blag, providing they had enough 'front'. Especially if they'd got a bit of stick time on at least something that really flies. In any case, nobody expects a newby FO joining an airline to know everything, otherwise the route to the left seat would not be such an arduous one.What is more, I've known plenty of airline pilots who indulge in gliding because it enables them to keep their skills up, something that a certain Mr Chesley Sullenberger, who I'm sure we all remember, also does, and it was absolutely more a case of those basic stick and rudder skills he was drawing on over the Hudson, than knowing where the oil tank for the APU on an Airbus is. So it really doesn't surprise me that half-decent light aircraft pilot could quite conceivably have impressed an airline check pilot, especially if the fraudster in question got a gentle intro to the airline via a smaller type.What is not generally realised with airline pilots, is that if someone fails to impress, or stuffs up a check ride, there is a good chance they will simply be sent for some remedial training for a few days, rather than being canned, and if they do that and pay attention, they'll probably ace a check ride the following week. I suspect, most pilots in charge of training and checking the regular line pilots, are more concerned with making sure they disseminate the info they are supposed to, rather than considering the possibility that the guy in the seat next to them might not be who he claims to be, and all pilots sweat a bit on check rides, so if the guy seemed at all nervous or fidgety, it would have simply been regarded as a natural reaction by a good many check pilots.Even if he was a crappy pilot when he first pulled off the blag, I bet he was pretty good regardless of the fraudulent credentials after 10,000-plus hours, which is quite a respectable logbook, and certainly enough to see you in the left seat of a pretty big airliner.Al

[BIGSKY 316]

They should let him take the writtens,orals and practicals when he gets out of jail :(

[ahsmatt7 1,199]

Even though what he did was wrong, he most likely was a more than competent pilot.

They should let him take the writtens,orals and practicals when he gets out of jail :(

here is the states that wouldn't fly because I believe what he did was a felony so that means he couldn't get SIDA clearance....or whatever its called.

[Chock 17,769]

here is the states that wouldn't fly because I believe what he did was a felony so that means he couldn't get SIDA clearance....or whatever its called.

I wouldn't put money on that. Frank William Abagnale, Jr, who was the subject of the movie, 'Catch me if you can', eventually ended up working as a security consultant for many of the banks he had defrauded in the past.Al

[momtchil 32]

That's an impressive deception. Flying for 13 years with a few Europen Airlines and accumulating 10,000 hours, with no valid licence. It'd take more than lying to achieve this, he was probably very sure of himself and a good actor to boot, also not forgetting in possession of some good forgeries. Must have been a decent pilot too. Naturally he got caught in the 13th year.With a pilot's salary (of someone who's flown for 13 years and is currently on a Boeing 737) he might have been able to individually pay for all the extremely expensive certifications he may have been missing, but then this would have incriminated him there and then - an airline pilot paying and taking qualification(s) he's supposed to have already.It said that he'd been arrested on a tip-off from Swedish authorities. It would be interesting to know exactly how they found out about this. Also it'd be interesting to know which European Airlines he flew with, apart from Turkish Corendon Airlines - which is the only one mentioned.

[Chock 17,769]

All sounds a bit 'Dostoyevsky' to me with regard to how he got caught, possibly even transpiring in the same manner as Raskolnikov, with reports that he stated that he was 'glad it was over' upon his arrest, which may or may not be true.Shame really, if he pulled it off for that length of time, I'm willing to bet he is probably a pretty good pilot. Still, if it was in the manner of Crime and Punishment, then he can at least be heartened by the knowledge that Raskolnikov eventually finds the promise of redemption in the book.Al

[momtchil 32]

All sounds a bit 'Dostoyevsky' to me with regard to how he got caught, possibly even transpiring in the same manner as Raskolnikov, with reports that he stated that he was 'glad it was over' upon his arrest, which may or may not be true.Shame really, if he pulled it off for that length of time, I'm willing to bet he is probably a pretty good pilot. Still, if it was in the manner of Crime and Punishment, then he can at least be heartened by the knowledge that Raskolnikov eventually finds the promise of redemption in the book.Al

I don't know if we can compare this guy to Raskolnikov from Crime and Punishment. Raskolnikov wasn't very stable during his transgressions (extreme poverty does that to a man) and the type of crime was also very different.To be able to pull this off for 13 years the fake pilot in question must have been a cool customer and pretty confident in himself and his decisions at least most of the time. Who knows maybe the fake pilot also reads Fyodor Dostoyevsky and decided to pull one last show for the finale, when he realised it had come. Or maybe it did really bother him that he'd lived with a big lie for such a long time. Thats the type of thing only he knows for sure.