A former Air Canada pilot has been charged after flying for years without the correct license, Canadian police announced on Tuesday.
Geoffrey Wall, from Barrie, Ontario, is accused of serving as an airline captain between 2009 and 2025 without a license to operate large commercial passenger aircraft, according to Peel Regional Police.
He reportedly completed over 900 flights both domestically and internationally without the necessary license. Air Canada stated that Wall, 59, held a valid commercial pilot license but was promoted to captain without obtaining the required airline transport pilot license.
“This pilot had a 27-year career and we are alleging that since 2009 has been flying for years misrepresenting himself and his credentials to his employer and regulatory officials using fraudulent licensing documents,” deputy police chief Nick Milinovich said. “He rose to the position of pilot in command where for almost 17 years he flew Boeing 767s, 777s and 787s.”
The airline reported that he was taken off active duty once it was revealed that he lacked the appropriate license and that it was voluntarily reported to Transport Canada, the governing body. The pilot is no longer working with the airline.
Police indicated that discrepancies were found during a documentation check. Earlier this year, Transport Canada reached out to law enforcement.
Air Canada claimed that safety was not compromised and an audit of its pilots showed no other cases of non-compliance.
“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, including a flight check with a certified Transport Canada check-pilot every 12 months,” the airline said in a statement.
“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 declined further comments due to privacy laws and an ongoing criminal investigation.
The company did not disclose the name of the pilot but mentioned he has faced fines from Transport Canada for lacking the correct certification to be an aircraft captain.
Authorities also noted that the accused submitted a false report regarding allegedly stolen pilot documentation.
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