10,000 hr Pilot with forged license arrested in EU

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CrashAxe

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I wonder how he finally got caught...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100304/od_nm/us_pilot_arrest

Pilot with fake licence arrested at airport


Thu Mar 4, 10:53 am ET
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – A Swedish pilot with a fake commercial license was arrested in his cockpit at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport as he prepared to fly 101 passengers on a Boeing 737 to Turkey, Dutch police said Wednesday.
The 41 year-old Swede, who was at the helm of a jet bound for Ankara, had been flying for 13 years and logged more than 10,000 flight hours using forged documents for airlines in Belgium, Britain and Italy, authorities said.
The pilot, whose name was not disclosed, was said to have expressed relief when confronted and taken off his pilot's stripes.
 
I'm not sure how I feel about this situation. It's still percolating. I'm impressed with his cojones, but disappointed that he didn't make time for a checkride to correct things after the first thousand or two hours it would have needed.

However, I'll wager he's grateful it was the Dutch authorities who apprehended him, and not the Turkish.
 
I believe he did have a commercial or military ticket at one point in his life but it had lapsed.
 
You would think the employer would require he submit the medicals & flight reviews required for his level of license. Maybe he was forging them also?
 
Geico266 said:
You would think the employer would require he submit the medicals & flight reviews [...]
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I would bet that has to pass the reviews at the airline for which he was currently working. Therefore I think that he only forged his licence and maybe the beginning of his logbook but stayed 'current' with the the medical and flight reviews.
For these reasons there was probably no danger for the passengers.
A German newspaper said the he held a private pilot's license some years ago.

Regarding the required cojones - they were maybe necessary at the beginning. However, once somebody is on this trail, he is probably trapped on it. This person probably had a good income, family, a house - what do you want to tell your family when you quit?
'Sorry honey, my pilots license was forged, I lied to you through all this years and have just decides to start working for McDonald. By the way - we'll have to sell our house, as we can't afford to afford it anymore?'

To be honest, I feel sorry for this guy, even so it was was obviously a stupid thing which he did. I can also understand, that he felt relieved when it was finally over.

Cheers,

Oliver
 
ScottM said:
Was it Leonardo DiCaprio?
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Ha that was my thought. What was the character he played? Guy made millions helping businesses prevent fraud after his release from prison. I guess it was the one time crime did pay.
 
AdamZ said:
Ha that was my thought. What was the character he played? Guy made millions helping businesses prevent fraud after his release from prison. I guess it was the one time crime did pay.
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Frank Abagnale

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Abagnale

Pan American Airlines estimated that between the ages of 16 and 18, Frank Abagnale flew over 1,000,000 miles on over 250 flights and flew to 26 countries, at Pan Am's expense, by deadheading. He was also able to stay at hotels for free during this time. Everything from food to lodging was billed to the airline. Abagnale stated that although he was often invited by actual pilots to take the controls in-flight, he never actually accepted their offers, instead using the "8 hours between the bottle and the throttle" rule as a convenient alibi.
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A little different than the guy this story is about.
Fascinating guy.

Frank that is, Leonardo not so much.
 
I would like to know how he got caught. Funny how none of his hours will count after all this time.

The good news is that he never killed anyone.

Tim
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
He proved himself to be a good pilot, just grandfather him!
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I'll assume you're kidding, but FWIW, if it were up to me, I wouldn't give him such a break.

I do admire his passion, cleverness and audacity, but the guy is a liar and a cheat, and of course his actions are technically criminal offenses... doesn't exactly fit the "good moral character" requirements for an ATP. There are plenty of equally capable pilots looking for a seat with an airline who earned their privileges honestly... why do this guy a favor?

And let's say I'm way off-base, totally wrong... the airline (and the Swedish aviation authorities) would still have to sell this guy to the traveling public. I just don't see the average pax being eager to fly with a "phony" airline pilot at the helm.


But I wish him luck- maybe he could do what Abagnale did, and start a new career as a fraud-prevention consultant. :D
 
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Mason said:
Maybe he will look for a job as a brain surgeon or nuclear plant operator.....
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Uncertified individuals have been found in both professions.
 
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