Former Air Canada pilot flew hundreds of flights without proper license, police say

A former pilot flew commercial planes for nearly 17 years allegedly without the required license, Ontario police said.

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A “complex fraud and forgery investigation” uncovered that a commercial airline pilot who spent the entirety of his career — from 1998 to 2025 — flying planes for Air Canada, had forged a license required of him when he was promoted to captain in 2009.

The investigation, dubbed “Project Icarus,” suggests “a deliberate effort to circumvent systems designed to safeguard the public. When that occurs, accountability is essential,” Chair of the Peel Police Services Board Nando Iannicca said.

Officials said the man flew Boeing 767, 777 and 787 passenger jets for more than 900 domestic and international flights, carrying tens of thousands of passengers without the required license.

“Our investigation has led us to believe that this was all done without the appropriate licensing, more specifically, without an airline transport pilot license, which is a requirement to fly passengers,” Deputy Police Chief Nick Milinovich said. “Instead, we believe the accused misrepresented his qualifications to both his employer and the regulator.”

Milinovich said it was believed that the former pilot had filed a false police report “in relation to an event found to have not occurred through this investigation with respect to stolen pilot documentation.”

No further information was provided about that incident.

The criminal investigation was launched in January after Air Canada notified Transport Canada about a regulatory investigation it had conducted into the captain — something the airline said it did voluntarily.

Fraud Bureau Detective Sergeant Chad Mitchell said the “catalyst” of the investigation took place in March 2025 at Pearson International Airport during a routine evaluation of the former pilot’s credentials and performance.

“Anomalies were detected” in the license he presented during the evaluation, which led to the regulatory investigation by the airline and then the criminal investigation.

The investigation found that the pilot didn’t have an airline transport pilot license for the entire time he served as captain for Air Canada.

“This high-level license is a requirement to operate the type of aircraft the accused flew at the rank of captain,” Mitchell said.

The pilot was arrested on June 1, Mitchell said. His first court appearance in Brampton will be on June 29.

He is charged with seven counts, including fraud, uttering forged documents and public mischief.

Air Canada issued a statement responding to the allegations that said “safety was not compromised by this incident,” noting that all of its pilots must “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.”

Officials also said Tuesday that they do not believe anyone else was involved in the scheme. They added that the pilot retired early in 2025.

Even still, the airline acknowledged that a proper license is still required in order to fly, and said it “takes this matter with utmost seriousness.”

“Throughout his employment with Air Canada, the individual in question was a fully trained pilot who held a valid Commercial Pilot License, and he successfully met or exceeded the required recurrent training, demonstrating a high level of competency to safely operate large aircraft,” Air Canada continued.

The airline noted, however, that even though the captain was trained to operate aircraft, “regulations require that captains of large aircraft operated by airlines in Canada hold an airline transport pilot license (ATPL), obtained by passing a series of written exams.”

The pilot in question was “removed from active duty,” the airline said.

The Air Line Pilots Association, in a statement provided to CTV News on Monday, said the matter is subject to an “ongoing investigation.”