For $47 you could have owned… AirCanada pilot’s manual
“An Air Canada ground worker has been charged with theft after using the Internet to try to sell a pilot's manual that would typically contain a wealth of sensitive, security-related information.
Police arrested a suspect at his Brampton, Ont., home, where they say they found the manual and a set of Air Canada flight charts, which also usually include sensitive material.
The flight operations manual discusses how crews should handle hijackings and bomb threats, includes information about access to the locked cockpit area and discusses who holds keys to the cockpit door, according to one pilot.
There are also instructions on how to retrieve passenger lists and seating plans from Air Canada computers.
The manual and the flight charts were listed for sale on the eBay Internet auction site for most of last week.
Although he is an airline employee based at Pearson International Airport in Toronto, the man arrested on Sunday was not supposed to have a copy of the manual, said Constable Heather Andrews of Peel Regional Police.
"It was a money thing, but he wasn't thinking about what could happen if it got into the wrong hands," she said. "This is secretive, sensitive material."
The man has been suspended by Air Canada pending the outcome of the court case and an internal investigation, said Laura Cooke, a spokeswoman for the company. The air carrier wants to ensure such manuals cannot slip into the wrong hands in the future.
The eBay listing described the flight operations manual as a 2002 "captain's edition," covering every aspect of the operation of an aircraft and never before used.
Late Friday afternoon, eBay cut short the sale, which had opened a week ago. By then, the seller had received five bids, with the highest being US$46.
Also up for grabs was a set of flight charts showing "flight paths, routings, altitudes, airport approach paths and runway layouts ... definitely a must for an amateur aviator or an airline enthusiast." Among the sensitive information included with the charts are the names and locations of hotels used by Air Canada crew, the pilot said.
Robert Paul Gaglione, 47, is charged with theft under $5,000 and possession of property obtained by crime.
He is scheduled to appear in court on March 10.”
As stupid as the greedy folks that pulled similar stunts after Columbia tragedy.
Last edited by jet_noseover; 19th Feb 2003 at 01:51.