A former Air Canada pilot has been charged in Canada after authorities alleged he flew tens of thousands of passengers over nearly two decades using a fake pilot’s licence, police said.
According to CNN, Geoffrey Wall was arrested on June 1 following an investigation that claims he acted as captain on more than 900 domestic and international flights between 2009 and 2025 without holding the required Airline Transport Pilot Licence for Aeroplanes.
Investigators say Wall, who worked for Air Canada, was promoted to captain despite never obtaining the mandatory qualification or completing the required testing.
“This investigation and the details surrounding it read like a movie script,” Peel Regional Police Deputy Chief Milinovich said in 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.
Authorities compared the case to the 2002 film Catch Me If You Can, in which a teenager successfully impersonates a pilot.
Police say Wall was licensed to fly commercial aircraft throughout his 27-year career with Air Canada, but lacked the ATPL-A required to serve as captain after his 2009 promotion.
“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 the scheme came to light in 2025 during a routine credential review that uncovered “anomalies… within the pilot license documentation.” Air Canada subsequently alerted regulators.
Wall retired in 2025 before the formal criminal and regulatory probe, named “Project Icarus,” was launched in January.
Air Canada said Wall had been a licensed commercial pilot and consistently demonstrated competency during mandatory safety 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,” Air Canada 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.
Wall now 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.
