Ex-airline captain accused in ‘complex fraud’ lacked licence for position: Air Canada

A former airline captain who is the subject of a “complex fraud” investigation lacked the proper licence for the position, Air Canada says.

The country’s largest carrier said in a statement Monday that the pilot, who was not identified as they are no longer an employee, was removed from active duty when the airline found out.

Air Canada did not say when it discovered this but added that it “voluntarily reported the matter” to Transport Canada, which imposed a monetary penalty on the pilot.

Peel Regional Police alleged Monday that the captain flew hundreds of flights without the necessary licence. Investigators will reveal the results of their probe, dubbed Project Icarus, at 11 a.m. Tuesday.

“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. However, appropriate licencing is an essential layer of the airline industry’s multi-layered approach to safety, so Air Canada takes this matter with utmost seriousness,” Air Canada’s statement reads.

“It has undertaken an audit of its pilot group and found no other instances of non-compliance. Also, pilot licences are cross-checked by a certified check pilot twice a year as part of the recurrent checks and training, and Air Canada has reinforced its administrative practices when physically verifying licences. This includes verifying the original documents issued by Transport Canada.”

Air Canada said the individual was a fully trained pilot who held a valid commercial pilot licence and met or exceeded required recurrent training.

“However, although both captains and first officers are trained to operate aircraft, regulations require that captains of large aircraft operated by airlines in Canada hold an airline transport pilot licence (ATPL), obtained by passing a series of written exams,” the airline said.

“This individual, who had been promoted to captain, lacked the mandatory ATPL for the position. Immediately upon Air Canada’s discovery of this, the individual was removed from active duty, and the company voluntarily reported the matter to Transport Canada.”

Air Canada added that it won’t comment further due to the active criminal investigation.

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