A FORMER pilot has been accused of flying thousands of passengers on flights without a proper licence over the past 17 years.
Ex-Air Canada pilot Geoffrey Wall, 59, from Ontario, forged credentials since 2009 after he was promoted to Captain.
The flight company insist that passenger safety was never at risk, since all pilots undergo competency training every six months.
Deputy Chief Nick Milinovich of Peel Regional Police said Wall had been flying with Air Canada for 27 years, starting in 1998.
The pilot had allegedly been misrepresenting his credentials from 2009 onwards, following his promotion to pilot-in-command — for which role an airline transport pilot licence (ATPL) is required.
DC Milinovich said: “This is very similar to a doctor that is licensed to practice family medicine, but is doing brain surgery in their office.”
It is understood that Wall flew several types of Boeing aircraft and a total of 900 domestic and international flights – earning millions of dollars without being qualified.
The allegations were made last year when inconsistencies with the captain’s licence were flagged during routine checks, which prompted an investigation by Transport Canada, Canada’s federal transport department.
Toronto-based Peel Regional Police say Wall’s licence was forged following a thorough criminal investigation.
On June 1, Wall was charged with seven counts, including fraud, forging documents and possession of counterfeit mark.
The pilot was fully trained and had a valid commercial pilot licence, but did not have the ATPL required to operate as captain under Canadian regulations, according to Air Canada.
The airline company said in a statement that “takes this matter with utmost seriousness”, and that it completed an audit of its pilots and found no other such issues.
According to DC Milinovich, the captain went undetected because offenders can become “very good” at “deceit and trickery”.
He said: “It is not uncommon for fraud to continue for years and years.
“Eventually it catches up to you, and that’s when we get involved.”
Wall is due to appear in court on June 29.