A former senior Air Canada pilot was arrested for flying without the required airline transport license
Canada’s Peel Regional Police told PEOPLE the unnamed man was arrested on fraud charges
The airline said the pilot was promoted to captain but did not hold the necessary license, which is obtained by passing written exams
A former senior Air Canada pilot has been arrested after allegedly flying thousands of passengers without the necessary license.
Canada’s Peel Regional Police told PEOPLE the unnamed pilot was arrested on fraud charges and did not wish to comment further.
On Monday, June 8, ABC News reported that a fraud investigation called “Project Icarus” led authorities to him and a random certification check turned up inconsistencies.
He was fined an undisclosed amount by Transport Canada for not holding a mandatory airline transport pilot license (ATPL), according to a press release shared by Air Canada on Monday.
An Air Canada plane
Credit: Mondadori Portfolio via Getty
Captains of large aircraft operated by airlines in Canada are required to hold an ATPL, which is obtained by passing a series of written exams.
He had been promoted to captain but did not have an ATPL. “Immediately upon Air Canada’s discovery of this, the individual was removed from active duty, and the company voluntarily reported the matter to Transport Canada,” the airline said.
The company stressed that “safety was not compromised by this incident,” because all pilots at Air Canada undergo mandatory recurrent training every six months to validate their flying competency. This includes a flight check with a certified Transport Canada check-pilot every 12 months.
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“However, appropriate licensing is an essential layer of the airline industry’s multi-layered approach to safety, so Air Canada takes this matter with utmost seriousness,” the airline said, per the release.
The company added it had audited its pilot group and “found no other instances of non-compliance.”
“Also, pilot licenses are cross-checked by a certified check pilot twice a year as part of the recurrent checks and training, and Air Canada has reinforced its administrative practices when physically verifying licenses,” the airline said. “This includes verifying the original documents issued by Transport Canada.”
Air Canada said that throughout the pilot’s employment, he was “a fully trained pilot who held a valid Commercial Pilot License.” It added that “he successfully met or exceeded the required recurrent training, demonstrating a high level of competency to safely operate large aircraft.”
The former pilot is no longer employed by the airline.
Air Canada said it could not comment further due to “privacy law and an active criminal investigation.”
The Peel Regional Police told PEOPLE it would hold a press conference on Tuesday, June 9, at 11 a.m. local time about “Project Icarus.”
Read the original article on People