- A former British Airways pilot has been jailed for fraud after admitting he had falsified his flight experience.
- A source told the Times that suspicion arose after he pushed a button “that no qualified pilot would do.”
- The former pilot forged training certificates and falsely claimed to have flown 1,610 hours as captain.
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A former British Airways pilot has been sentenced to a year in prison after pleading guilty to falsifying his flight experience.
He was sentenced to 12 months in prison on Monday at Snaresbrook Crown Court in east London, Britain, after pleading guilty to four counts of fraud and two breaches of the Air Navigation Order 2016, which regulates safety standards, according to the Civil Aviation Authority ( CAA) and court documents viewed by The Times of London.
The pilot falsely claimed to have flown 1,610 hours as a captain and fabricated training certificates while applying for a job at BA CityFlyer, British Airways’ regional airline, according to court documents seen by The Times.
Between April 2016 and March 2018 he was employed as a pilot by BA CityFlyer, which operates out of London City Airport, and by the now-defunct Irish regional airline, Stobart Air, which was owned by Aer Lingus. According to court documents reported by the newspaper, he was with each trucking company for a year.
BA CityFlyer officials first became suspicious after an “on the ground” incident in Switzerland, when the pilot pressed a button “that no qualified pilot would do,” a source told the Times, without giving further details.
He was investigated by the CAA, which took legal action.
The Times reported that the pilot tampered with his flying hours log while working for a previous employer, Hangar 8 Management, which operates the same Embraer 190 jet as BA CityFlyer. He also falsely said he had held a private pilot’s license since 1998, according to court documents cited by The Times.
When asked by insiders, British Airways said the pilot was fully qualified and certified. The case related to false statements in references he made during an application, the airline said.
“The safety of our customers and crew is always our priority, and the fully qualified pilot was suspended and an investigation launched as soon as BA CityFlyer noticed discrepancies in his employment records,” an airline representative told Insider. “At no time was there a risk for customers or colleagues.”
Jonathan Spence, General Counsel of the CAA, said the agency’s prosecution and the judgment issued “show that crimes of this nature are taken very seriously by the Civil Aviation Authority and the courts. Pilot integrity is at the heart of flight safety and we will take whatever steps are necessary to maintain that position.”
Aer Lingus and Hangar 8 management did not respond to insider requests for comment.