Almost 20 years goes a long way, whether you are an airplane pilot or not. But if you are also one, you will have had time to accumulate almost a thousand international flights, take the controls of different types of aircraft and accumulate good money.
It is the summary that Geoffrey Wall could make of his life when, once retired, he told this to his grandchildren or, who knows, told it to all of us in a book. One more story. Tasteless, without substance. But Geoffrey Wall may say otherwise. Yes, you can tell that He flew airplanes for decadeswho took the controls of the best-known commercial airplanes on more than 900 occasions and who accumulated millions of euros taking hundreds of lives from one place to another through the clouds.
But he will also be able to tell how he managed to trick his airline into flying planes for 16 years without the relevant license to do so.
Everything good, except for one small detail
Because the future doesn’t look good for Geoffrey Wall. They count in cnn that the police knocked on his door and he was arrested. The reason: Air Canada notified authorities that one of its pilots was flying with a false license. Not only that, he had been doing it from 2009 until last year.
The deception was discovered during a routine check. Nobody had reported irregularities in the controls, no aircraft had been put at risk. But in 2025, during a review of its documentation, it was found that there were some anomalies. By then, the pilot had been flying airplanes within the company for 27 years.
However, the company points out that Wall began flying fraudulently starting in 2009. Then, the pilot was promoted to captain and was able to take command of the aircraft and direct operations. The small detail is that he falsified the ATPL-A, the highest level pilot’s license.
At a press conference to explain what happened, Deputy Chief Nick Milinovich, of the Peel Regional Police (southern Ontario, Canada), pointed out that “It’s very similar to a doctor who is licensed to practice family medicine but is performing brain surgery in his office.” And he once again emphasized the importance of having the appropriate licenses to perform a job. Especially if in that job you have taken thousands of people through the air.
The authorities have explained that the pilot left his job in 2025, just before “Project Icarus”, as the police work has been called internally, started rolling last January. months later They have managed to prove the falsification of the documents and on June 1 they arrested the pilot.
However, Air Canada emphasizes that its pilots pass tests regularly and that at no time were passengers put in danger. They emphasize that Geoffrey Wall amply demonstrated his abilities to pilot the Boeing 767, 777 and 787 to which he had access during the last 16 years.
During that time it is estimated that Wall earned more than two million dollars with his salary but will now have to face seven criminal charges, including fraud for money earned without a license and falsification of documents. In addition, it has already been fined by Transport Canada, the Canadian Government department in charge of ensuring compliance with all mobility regulations in the country.
Photo | David Shypers
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings