Air Canada pilot Geoffrey Wall has been charged with flying tens of thousands of passengers over nearly 17 years using a fake pilot’s licence, according to Canadian police.
Wall was arrested on June 1 after investigators alleged he commanded more than 900 domestic and international flights between 2009 and 2025 without obtaining the required licence or completing mandatory testing, CNN reports.
“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 has drawn comparisons to the 2002 film Catch Me If You Can, in which a teenager successfully poses as a PanAm pilot.
Police said Wall held a commercial pilot licence throughout his 27-year career at Air Canada but never possessed the Airline Transport Pilot License for Aeroplanes (ATPL-A) required after his promotion 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. “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.
Investigators said a routine review of Wall’s credentials in 2025 uncovered “anomalies… within the pilot license documentation,” prompting Air Canada to alert regulators.
Wall retired in 2025 before the regulatory and criminal investigation, known as Project Icarus, began in January.
CNN said it was unable to immediately identify a lawyer representing Wall.
Air Canada stressed that Wall was a licensed commercial pilot and had repeatedly demonstrated his ability to safely operate large aircraft.
“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 posted on Monday.
“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 went on to say.
Police said Wall has been fined by Transport Canada and faces seven criminal charges, including fraud over $5,000, two counts of uttering forged documents and three counts of possession of a counterfeit mark. He is scheduled to appear in court on June 29, 2026.
