For nearly 17 years, an Air Canada captain flew hundreds of passenger flights without holding the licence required for the job, according to Canadian police.Investigators say the case resembles the plot of a Hollywood film, reports CNN.Geoffrey Wall is a ex-Air Canada pilot and has been charged after he piloted more than 900 domestic and international flights between 2009 and 2025 despite never obtaining the Airline Transport Pilot License for Aeroplanes (ATPL-A), the qualification required for captains.Wall was arrested on June 1 after long-running deception involving pilot credentials. During that period, he flew major aircrafts including Boeing 767s, 777s and 787s, carrying tens of thousands of passengers and earning nearly C$3 million in salary.“This investigation and the details surrounding it read like a movie script,” Peel Regional Police Deputy Chief Milinovich said at a news conference in Ontario.“(Wall) rose to the position of pilot in command where for almost 17 years they flew Boeing 767s, 777, and 787s,” while earning nearly $3 million Canadian dollars (more than $2 million US dollars) salary.The case resembles to that of the 2002 film “Catch Me If You Can,” which involves a teenager impersonating a PanAm pilot. Wall was not an unqualified aviator. He held a commercial pilot’s licence throughout his 27-year career with Air Canada and was legally permitted to fly commercial aircraft. However, he never obtained the higher-level ATPL-A licence required when he was promoted to captain in 2009.“This is very similar to a doctor that is licensed to practice family medicine but is doing brain surgery in their office,” Milinovich said.Milinovich added: “There’s additional requirements and regulations to professional designations that exist for a reason.”“We believe the accused misrepresented his qualifications to both his employer and the regulator,” Milinovich said.The fraud came to light during a routine review of Wall’s credentials in 2025. Officials discovered “anomalies… within the pilot license documentation”, prompting Air Canada to alert regulators.Wall retired earlier this year before authorities launched the criminal and regulatory probe, known as Project Icarus, in January.Air Canada said passenger safety had not been compromised because all pilots are subject to regular training and competency checks.“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 added.Transport Canada has fined Wall, who now faces seven criminal charges. They include fraud over C$5,000, two counts of uttering forged documents and three counts of possession of a counterfeit mark.Wall is expected to appear in court on June 29, 2026.
