Fake Sri Lankan Airlines Captain

[mypilot]

A GERMAN man has been arrested for allegedly using false documents to secure a job as a senior airline pilot, a Sri Lankan police spokesman said.
Ranjith Gunasekara said the man had been flying for Sri Lanka's national carrier for 10 months before an internal probe found he was only qualified as a co-pilot, and not as a captain of a wide-bodied airliner.
"We are going to take over all the documents from personal files for our investigations," Mr Gunasekara said. "The German national is now being held by the airport police."

There was no immediate comment from Sri Lankan airline, which until April this year was fully-managed by Emirates of Dubai.
Sri Lankan airline sources said the German national was discovered when a junior pilot, who had been sent for routine training on a bigger Airbus A-340, noticed that the "captain" was uncomfortable with the controls.

However, he had still captained Sri Lankan flights to European destinations including London, Frankfurt and Paris, as well as Dubai, the sources said.

'Fake' airline pilot held over false papers | NEWS.com.au (http://www.news.com.au/travel/story/0,26058,24087737-5014090,00.html)

How does this happen in this day and age? Obviously you can bribe your way to a Captain's Position with Sri Lankan Airlines!

[luoto]

Out of interest, (non pilot here) do pilots and FOs pass over copies of their credentials to new employers showing their national/international certification or is it usually based on trust (plus of course competency when you do check rides etc)?

[Romeo India Xray]

In all cases I know of, you have to supply everything to your employer (licence, logbook, certificates, passport, work-permit, criminal record check etc). If you hold an ICAO licence but not from the state of your employer (e.g. an American working in an EU JAR state), you will also have to get your American licence "validated" for the EU state which also means handing over your entire paper trail to the authority in order that they can issue you with a certificate of validation.

If you are a JAR licence holder going to work in another JAR state there is no authority checking, but the employer is still obliged to check as they must ensure a pilot is fit for purpose.

RIX

[luoto]

Ah, thank you !

[layinlow]

The same thing happened back in the early 80's with an American passing himself off as a Captain when he was actually a SAUDIA FO on the Tri-Star. The jig was up when another SAUDIA crew member ran into him in Columbo. Sri Lanka seems to never have learned its lesson.

[B772]

Reminds me of the F/E who presented himself and falsified documents in Singapore many years ago. Flew in command of a B707 from memory.

[tamie]

As I know the German JAR FCL shows definitely PIC or COP together with the rating. And usually foreign employers ask for a licence verification letter.
Possible that he went through an upgrade training but failed during supervision? In this case he could get the entry but he never worked as PIC. Or am I wrong?

[Che Guevara]

Sure sounds like like him, would not suprise me one bit...interesting to find out!

[Agaricus bisporus]

found he was only qualified as a co-pilot,

Could easily be that he just pencilled in enough hours to get issued with an ATPL, and had the chutzpah to apply for, and the luck to land a P1 job. Sure he'd be uncomfortable then, and soon get spotted.

The word "qualified" would seem to support this, because he clearly passed the company induction and sim checks, and then worksd for several months. If fsubsequently found to be only a CPL then "Not Qualified" would be the word usd to describe it, not so?

[hetfield]

Reminds me of the F/E who presented himself and falsified documents in Singapore many years ago. Flew in command of a B707 from memory.

Anyhow, must be a "tough" guy....

[Airbus Girl]

Without getting up from my chair to have a look, I have a feeling that all UK issued licences state PIC or PIC U/S for the type rating you have. Therefore the upgrade to Captain is purely a company thing. I don't think your licence changes. I don't think all companies ask for logbooks, and anyway, these could easily be faked.
And I guess Sri Lankan didn't ask for a reference from the previous airline, or didn't ask the question?

[sevenforeseven]

Hmmmm. Not too difficult to fly a aircraft then?:confused:

[lomapaseo]

Hmmmm. Not too difficult to fly a aircraft then?

"Catch Me if You Can"

[Shunter]

"Catch Me if You Can"Yeah, ok. Now go watch said film. Mr Abignale never flew one, just got jumpseat rides everywhere.

[Ladusvala]

Well Sevenforeseven, he had a CPL and as a copilot he should be able to pilot an aircraft, right?

[sevenforeseven]

Ladusvala, only joking. :ok:

[Shytehawk]

Reminds me of a guy who joined the same airline as me in the early 80's. His hours were as F/E but he had transposed them to a new logbook as P2. He was found out at the simulator stage when every V1 cut produced a perfect half barrel roll followed by a pull through into the ground. Only the direction varied, depending on which engine had failed. A joy to behold.

[Two's in]

Being German, it was probably the on-time departures that initially attracted the attention of the authorities...

[kuntakinte]

Heard from several sources that many expat non rated DEC's pull the wool over Korean eyes too.

Also many South African cruise pilots logged their B744 cruise time as P1 time, colluded with a corrupt KE recruitment officer and got to be KE B744 skippers!

Easy to do fellas...the Koreans are real slack with background checks; when the realise they were fooled, they just keep quiet so as n NOT TO LOSR FACE.:ugh:

[Teal]

Being German, it was probably the on-time departures that initially attracted the attention of the authorities...Magnificent! :ok:

[TeachMe]

"Heard from several sources that many expat non rated DEC's pull the wool over Korean eyes too.

Also many South African cruise pilots logged their B744 cruise time as P1 time, colluded with a corrupt KE recruitment officer and got to be KE B744 skippers!

Easy to do fellas...the Koreans are real slack with background checks; when the realise they were fooled, they just keep quiet so as n NOT TO LOSR FACE."

As SLF who is a Prof. of Linguistics at a Korean university, that is quite true.

This country is really one of who you know. If a Korean pilot were to lie about his qualifications, he would only get fired if he did not know anyone up higher, however he would not have gotten the job without knowing someone. Some excuse would be made like he was just trying to support his family and we must understand him. If he is non-Korean then he would be fired the next day and the story hushed. In this case the non-Korean would be made out as the bad guy after all 'We trusted him and look at what he did"

This country is not near as bad as Thailand or China, but nowhere near where it should be in terms of moral obligation to be responsible and honest. The problem in Korea at times is that foreigners are socially lower and more at risk of discrimination. (At least in China however they cheet and lie to each other just as much as to foreigners as money comes before nationalism there)

I will say this also about Korea, they do the big things right. Incheon is a beautiful and efficient airport (from SLF perspective). I really enjoy going through there (as much as any airport) with only HK being better in my opinion (Starbucks passenger side :ok: makes a big difference compared to Dunkin Donuts :yuk: ).

I have however no faith in any Korean airline, especially KAL. They look good on the outside and seem nice, but I just can not trust that some Korean mechanic would not on occasion take a short cut when nobody is looking. (Please mechanics, I am not saying they do, I am only saying that I do not trust that they dont. My grandfather was an AC mechanic in Regina until his retirement in about 1981 so I have great respect for mechanics in general)

Sorry for the little rant on Korea. Have lived here for most of 9 years and married one of the locals so ......

[Agaricus bisporus]

is a Prof. of Linguistics at a Korean university
they cheet and lie

Couldn't resist that!

[Opsbeatch]

Not releated to JV is he?!?!?!?

[Tony Mabelis]

I know its a long time ago ........but does anyone remember the 707 pilot dubbed the 'Bristol Cowboy' by Flight International, after he took out the approach lights on take off in Bristol, and then proceeded to Kuwait.
A fine example of a PPL flying a 'Heavy'!!

[crash gang]

Wasn't that aircraft 9Q-CRY, came into Lasham for some maintenance but only wanted the bear minimum done, just to get it back in the air, paid cash i seemed to remember. Very dodgey crew, aircraft later found burnt out down in Africa

[Mephistopheles]

Sounds alot like the German/Italian guy who was sacked by GF after flying as a Training Capt in India is still up to his old tricks!!!

[Airbubba]

Also many South African cruise pilots logged their B744 cruise time as P1 time, colluded with a corrupt KE recruitment officer and got to be KE B744 skippers!

Some of my Ozmate friends did the same thing at Thai a while back after the 'dispute'. They logged half of their FO time as P1 and TG bought it. They were staying in the BKK Rama Gardens hotel on the company dime and flying as widebody captains. Oh, how I miss those topless Lauda girls at the pool.:)

Easy to do fellas...the Koreans are real slack with background checks; when the realise they were fooled, they just keep quiet so as n NOT TO LOSR FACE.

Yep, I had a buddy with alliterative initials who was an A300 FO in the Middle East. He got one of his countrymen in the chief pilot's office to loan him some stationery and a stamp to create a letter of recommendation as an Airbus captain. KE bought it hook, line and sinker and hired him as an A300 DEC. Last I heard, he was a 744 captain at Korean.

The same thing happened back in the early 80's with an American passing himself off as a Captain when he was actually a SAUDIA FO on the Tri-Star. The jig was up when another SAUDIA crew member ran into him in Columbo. Sri Lanka seems to never have learned its lesson.

I think this guy later claimed to be Clinton's pilot in Arkansas while he was governor and an O-6 in the reserves in Gulf War One. Last I heard of him he was flying L-1011's at some place called Air Rum.

[littlejet]

He is just one of many who simply got caught. If you had a decent training curriculum, once passed the check you are qualified to act as PIC.
Even tough I do not approve this kind of act, sometimes I understand why guys are doing this.
The company I am currently flying for accepts only highly experienced FOs.
Than you need to spend at least 5 RH seat years to enter the pool. Once selected your upgrade training course will last more than a year. The failure rate is 85%.
It is easier to become an astronaut at ESA than commander here.
And yet they employ DECs even non type rated who has never flown wide body jets.
All this training bs. is simply introduced by a strong Captain's lobby to have their job more valuable an highly paid. The gap between FO's and PIC's is wider and wider. I recently got an offer from a very stable airline who pays their FO's only 50% of captains salary. And they need only type rated guys with more than a 1000 on type (wide body).
KAL employs DECs but prevents hired DFOs to be upgraded ever (stated in a contract).
FOs at low cost carriers and in the US are paid less than janitors.
On the other hand there is a strong influx of pay for training 200hrs FOs with no idea of what flying really is.
I think that there should be a totaly independent ICAO body established only to evaluate, train and give PIC endorsement to qualified FOs.
Something like a PhD or similar but we are so far from that kind of unification and I don't think that it will ever happen.
This profession is at it's knees.

[Airbubba]

Than you need to spend at least 5 RH seat years to enter the pool. Once selected your upgrade training course will last more than a year. The failure rate is 85%.

Wow, sounds like the training is really lousy if it takes a year to check out a captain and most of them fail. I remember QF crews bragging about how many upgrade candidates failed, I was not too impressed. Of course, five years to upgrade would sound pretty good at a lot of U.S. carriers right now.

In the U.S., all you need is a warm body, a pulse and a seniority number to upgrade. It is unusual for someone not to make it on the first try although an extra sim or recheck is not uncommon.

[HakunaMatata]

Its been going on in aviation for years. You yougsters out there read Ernest Gann.

[ecureilx]

Update .. There is a question going around if the passenger safety was compromised ..

>>

SriLankan pilot dismissed
http://www.dailymirror.lk/DM_BLOG/TagImg/NO%20TAG.jpg
The SriLankan Airlines, the country’s national carrier has terminated the services of a foreign licensed pilot who was found to have submitted a falsified letter to the airline and initiated an inquiry into the incident.


In a statement, the SriLankan Airlines said yesterday that this particular employee, holds a valid Airline Transport Pilot’s license from the Civil Aviation Authority of the Federal Republic of Germany, which endorsed his rating as a Captain on the Airbus A340, A330 and A320 aircraft. This license is in accordance with the standards of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), the global governing body of the industry It also said that prior to joining the SriLankan Airlines in October 2007, he had worked for European, Asian and Middle Eastern airlines. However, the pilot had submitted a false document in order to satisfy a criteria specific to SriLankan which stipulates that directly recruited Captains require 1000 hours of flying experience as a captain on a particular aircraft.

On July 22 the SriLankan Airlines received information that this employee had not held a captain’s post in the airline he was employed at immediately prior to joining the SriLankan. A clarification of this information was sought by the SriLankan Airlines from his previous employer who replied with a confirmation of the information the next day. The pilot was dismissed after a formal inquiry held by the airline on July 23. The airline has informed the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka about this incident, it added.

[Metro man]

I know its a long time ago ........but does anyone remember the 707 pilot dubbed the 'Bristol Cowboy' by Flight International

I do and that's going back to early 1980s. One of the Captains had a revoked US licence, the co pilot a PPL with assistant instructors rating. The flight engineer was the only one properly qualified and had to do the take off calculations because the others didn't know how.

Very dodgy maintenance, flew around with one main gear leg extended for a while. The aircraft was grounded after sand and metal pieces found in the engine oil systems in suspicious circumstances. The Khans disappeared soon afterwards.

[Airbubba]

Your version is bullsh!t.

I think you don't have a clue, these guys were definitely not 737 drivers. Perhaps a little before your time. These folks were refugees of the great AFAP mass resignation movement, FO's in Oz and they flew Airbuses. Anyway, maybe they later repeated the scheme with 737's as you imply.

[Flyingphil]

So that the way the new JAR-Standards moved?

I remember working in an expanding german charter-airline about 10 years ago and I had to stamp the licences of upgraded f/o's with "cancelled" and handover new licences (german ATPLs) to pilots that came along to pick them up.
All included a picture!

[Tony Mabelis]

Metroman... We in Dubai that were involved with the Khans, named Richard K.....Richard X. Con!!

[ROLLA]

The guy who fooled them should be promoted because if he was that good and had the hours he deserved being pic because it shows how
weak that company is technically , the german co-pilot was actually doing the Sri Lankan company a favor. ;)

[Che Guevara]

he had worked for European, Asian and Middle Eastern airlines.
Well, two out of three would be Air Mauritius and Gulf Air I believe. Claims to have flown for Mauritius, however somebody that was there when he claimed to be said he had never seen him...one thing for sure, if he is the guy from Gulf, he was definately a F/O and was definately fired.

The guy who fooled them should be promoted because if he was that good and had the hours he deserved being pic because it shows how
weak that company is technically , the german co-pilot was actually doing the Sri Lankan company a favor
That my friend is BS.

[Propellor]

Would someone do us all a favour and reveal the name of this trickster? Only then could one pinpoint the person. I do not think it would be any defamation - just the name from reliable sources.
Thanks.

[g109]

yes propellor,

fully agree with you, reveal this guys name, so hopefully he will NEVER be employed again with an airline!!!


unbelievable!!!

[planecrazi]

Found a picture, HERE!:} (http://madeinsrilanka.wordpress.com/2008/07/27/catch-me-if-you-can-srilankan-style/)

[Fropilot]

Remember the Bristol Cowboy!!! That was a lesson for all to pay attention.

I was at CAT Hamble at that time.

[27/09]

Found a picture, HERE!

A picture of what? Looks like a picture of a the movie promo not the guy at Sri Lankan.

[ecureilx]

Actually, his license was endorsed by the Sri Lanka CAA. Digs a long trail I guess.

By the way, it was UL which found out and reported the discrepancy to CAA.

Anyway, from what I figured he was a qualified pilot, albeit with insufficient hours as required to be PIC. And not a danger in the sky and possibly danger to the thousands of people in various airports he had been flying. :=

[planecrazi]

27/09
I was searching too for his picture or name and then found the picture in the first click. I thought it was a bit humorous, hence the grin!:}

But from what I know, there are many like this, jumping jobs and logging illegal command hours. It catches up with the guys rather quickly. This world of aviation is small, very small!

[powerstall]

it is indeed a very small world we live in..... :ok:

but he took a lot of people for a ride.... :eek:

[efatnas]

well, we germans are a pain in the bud, i know; but there are some of us who are actually legit; me, having worked 20 years for an international airline in the USA, have seen in my time more than once pilots who called themselves captains, but never actually flew the left seat; i guess when one passes the typeride, that qualifies; always was a mystery to me; there is an educational process, and airlines should, how it is customary in the USA, look at PIC time to hire new pilots; all this ab initio people don't have the background in my view to satisfy decision making requirements; that is in general; i can teach my dog to pass a sim check, but is he going the right way..... i don't think so.....

[MasMamak]

Heard from retired and ex KAL skippers that many DECs in KAL have dodgy credentials, especially those not from established airlines. Those from charters, freights and corporate flying all pad their hours and obtained suspect testimonials from flt ops offices of some dodgy operators. Time the Korean authorities do some real background checks!

[Severely Jetlagged]

Can think of one infamous Aussie at KAL. Ex F/O Singapore, F/O Kuwait in fact never flew as a Captain but joined KAL as an A300 Skipper. Moved to B777 then fired or asked to leave and now with Jet Airways.

[Airbubba]

Can think of one infamous Aussie at KAL. Ex F/O Singapore, F/O Kuwait in fact never flew as a Captain but joined KAL as an A300 Skipper. Moved to B777 then fired or asked to leave and now with Jet Airways.

Yep, I think that's the one I know who did the phony letter for KE, callsign Delta Delta, originally from NBO.

[Mat Sabo]

The Koreans are badly shortchanged.....are they really that dumb or just couldn't care less.? Time for their SkyTeam partners to act and put things right! Shudder to think of passengers intending to fly in SkyTeam partner planes being hived off to KAL operating with skippers with dodgy credentials!

[SIDSTAR]

Get this 'faker's' name out in the open so that he can never again degrade and devalue the pilot profession.

Let the 'faker' sue if he has the cojones.

[powerstall]

heard that they were just trying to save face, if the world found out that one of the biggest flag carriers in the world had been duped and fooled.... by &*^&$%, how do you think the riding public would react? hehehe :E

[aa73]

Yeah, ok. Now go watch said film. Mr Abignale never flew one, just got jumpseat rides everywhere.

Actually, he did - once. Well, almost - he was offered the captain's seat during a j/s ride on a TWA 707 (as was the custom back then) and "I promptly put the jet on autopilot, because I couldn't fly a kite" in his words.

[westinghouse]

apparently this imposter did quite a bit of auto lands.
seems he wasnt able to land from the left seat.

[Pander216]

I am very curious who this guy is because a few years back I did my A320 rating with a German/Italian guy who went to Asia afterwards...

Are his initials S.L. ?

[P.Clostermann]

what about G.B.?

Add QR to his list of attempts

[Oakeydokey]

SIDSTAR.....S Jetlagged probably referred to the guy by the namo combino of bill clinton and morgan fre.....mantle?

The Sud Afrikaners did con big........their recruiters were ex KAL 747 skippers working hand in hand with the corrupt ed kim whowas the flt admin mgr then in the late 90s. Maybe kuntakinte can find out the culprits in the Boer dominated SAA who help fake their paper work and hours.

[Severely Jetlagged]

On the money OakeyDokey. The con artist at Korean Airlines now Jet Airways is B.F.

The one at Sri Lankan is G.B.

Obviously, I know all the wrong people!

[Brix]

Why was this poor guy doing this? Most probably because he didn't get a chance any other way, namely not in Germany. The situation hasn't changed, even when the demand for experienced skippers was high: you can have thousands of hours in command on small jets, ie Embraer, CRJ and then you do a widebody typerating, lets say on B 747 or A 340, but as a First Officer. If your company doesn't upgrade you for any reason, you can have 10000 hours on type but you will never slide into the LHS with another carrier, because they always require 500 hours PIC on type.

So these are the options: go back to small jets and lousy conditions, stay trapped in the RHS forever or cheat.

I really would like to know how many commanders are flying around without the correct credentials, but with far more experience than the lucky ones. Same goes for surgeons in hospitals, and so on.:sad:

[loc22550]

Severly Jetlagged,

The famous "Call me G.B."......Hmmmm..
he came a few years in Qatar Airways....
Not surprised at all....:bored:

Brix, Why he did that.
This guy is megalomaniac!Nothing else.Believe me.
I known him .
Cheers.

[P.Clostermann]

:ugh:What I find more worrying is the fact that these people obviously are capable of slipping through the mazes of the net!

We have seen several here in QR ( but they where caught after some time), UL has this problem and for sure many many more airlines are facing this as well!

I know becoming a commander takes a bit of luck of being at the right time at the right place. I know, myself I had to wait many many years, but in the end you will get it.
If patience does not work or if you fail somewhere, maybe the problem lays with the person in question! So what, take the beating and live a happy life as FO. Not everybody is made to be a commander after all!

But these guys they have a severe psychological problem. They can not stand the fact that they might not have the capabilities and they hate it when somebody can give them orders!

So they will go to enormeous amounts of energy to prove to the world that they can do it!

GB....thats a story on himself!

Came to QR as an FO on A320. His background, as he was telling everybody, was German Airforce

He was given a shot at his command, but failed miserably!

Continued to fly as FO. But the decision was made here to have the FOs wearing two stripes, untill you pass 3 years on line, after which you got 3 bars! No big deal you would say?
Well it was for GB, the poor guy was so frustrated he started putting his old 3 bar epaulettes in his front pocket while wearing the mandatory 2 bar thinghies, just so everybody could see he actually did have 3 at a time!:ugh:

He was given a second shot at command and yes...he failed miserably again!

At this stage he left. Told everybody he was hired as a skipper on 340!

Some crew bumped into him in china, where he was sitting in the airport in his captains'pyjamas, telling crew he was CApt on a VIP 340!

And now this UL story!


This guy is known everywhere and still he is playing his old tricks. I hope he realises the legal consequences of this and the disaster he could have caused in case anything would have gone wrong!
The insurance companies would have had a ball with his case, and the victims would have received NOTHING! UL would have gone bankrupt most probably!

People like this are sick and irresponsible! They should be thrown in jail ASAP.

I know a couple of people like this actually, maybe we should make lists of them iso focussing on SCABS!:mad:

[loc22550]

P.Clostermann. i do confirm all the fact you mentioned are 100% exact.!

Sorry but This guy screwed himself the first day he joined Qatar Airways by his Arrogant and racist attitude...
Examples are endless.
Yes he is sick..

Loc.

[timmya320]

we had in italy a few years ago a german flying as a captain for 8 months he was only found out when a training captain from his previous airlina asked the opps director how f/o .... was he was fired immediately

[Fr. Dougal]

Its a disgrace it damages the profession when the public see this...I ve heard stories that there was guys like this also on contract in the UK and Ire???

[williewalsh]

This is not a new thing. It is worse since Jar and the willingness of some authorities to validate at the drop of a hat. Ire,Holland, anywhere there isa large leasing business or indeed a large loco business!!!!
The back door is wide open. The last line of defence is robust recruiting.
I know of a few confirmed fakers in the uk that got as far as left seat trg but were flushed out during training. Much more difficult during the national licence days. If the back door is wide open in europe , its been flapping in the breeze for a long time in icao land...read ME and Far east as mentioned here.

[Fangio]

I seem to remember that he collected the approach lights on departure from Bristol and the a/c registration changed when it landed in the Middle East!

[CommanderRiker]

I am no legal eagle; can the experts tell me if it is within the rights of insurance companies to deny payment in case they investigate and find that the skipper involved in a major prang has dodgy credentials?

It scares me that Korean Air takes such a laissez-faire attitude in recruitment.

[mutt]

There is another one out there flying the E170, started in Saudia, didnt pass the training, never went on the line, then went to Paramount India as an E170 INSTRUCTOR, now believe he is in Jordan.........

He even went as far as advertising himself on the web..... :):)

Mutt

[BEA MAN]

In the last couple of years I have had 2 occassions when people have applied for vacant Captains positions. Investigations have shown that they they were First Officers. As there will always be people trying to buck the system it the responsibility of the prospective employer to check all candidates credentials before employing new crew.

[FlyingCroc]

It happens again and again. I was told by a mate that they had a guy caught at QR a few years ago, I think it was also a German chap. I think the CAA of the respective homecountry should pull their ATPL license for good, thats the only way to stop these conartists. :yuk:

[cochise]

It is not surprising that this is happening in this day and age. Some people feel that the world owes them something and will do everything and anything to get it, even if their goal is short lived.
With the amount of company FOM's, aircraft manuals floating around and companies offering sim sessions it's not hard to believe that someone with previous experience can fake it. It is very questionable that the training staff did not pick this up in the beginning and it was not until 10 months later that an FO finally noticed that he was "not comfortable in the left seat". Would have thought that after 10 months he would have gotten "comfortable" enough to use his right hand to program things etc...

[Riu]

It happened to another german guy recently in europe, last year.. he was flying on contract for iberworld based in germany and he pretended they were provinding an upgrade to the left hand seat.. then one day, on his own he presented himself on duty with a four stripes uniform informing the captain he was allowed by the company to start his training, the captain who was an istructor seated on the right seat trusting the copilot's words.(incredible!)
After a while the story came out and he was fired.

Then Sigmar aviation called one of the captains working for the same contract asking credentials for the this guy, because he was applying as captain with 700 hours logged!!

it is a long story but it came out that the same guy had be working for vueling as well, earlier ,a couple of weeks as captain before being catched and fired. I think the german DGAC should revoke his license once for all!!

[teeepee]

he he i guess sri lanka airlines deserves it!,thats what you get when you always believe white is superior,our sympathy.....:O

[Rainboe]

teeepeee- that is an objectionable comment .

[tamie]

we had in italy a few years ago a german flying as a captain for 8 months he was only found out when a training captain from his previous airlina asked the opps director how f/o .... was he was fired immediately

@timmya320,

well, that's not the whole truth you are telling.
I know what guy you are talking about - as well as I know people from the company he was working for before. Not everyone is as sure as you are about his "faults", neither in Italy nor in Germany.
He is working for this former company again and in meantime he went again through upgrading. He is now flying as cpt without any problems in this company. Obviously it couldn't be that bad... ;)

[Hahn]

"tamie" must be german - he´s telling the thruth!

[ecureilx]

The airline says:

“SriLankan Airlines wishes to state that the safety of our passengers was never compromised, even to the slightest degree. The pilot in question is in fact a qualified Captain. At the time of his recruitment as a Captain on the Airbus A330, he, to date, holds a valid Airline Transport Pilot’s Licence from the Civil Aviation Authority of the Federal Republic of Germany, which endorsed his rating as a Captain on the A340, A330 and A320 aircraft. This licence is issued in accordance with the standards of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), the global governing body of the industry.

“Indeed, in many other airlines he would have been recruited as a Captain on the strength of his experience and qualifications. However, SriLankan Airlines sets a very high standard for its pilots, which requires that a direct entry Captain possesses a minimum of 1,000 hours of flying as a Captain, in addition to other requirements such as a minimum of 4,500 hours of flying as a First Officer prior to becoming a Captain.

“It was discovered on July 22, 2008 that this Captain had misrepresented that he had been a Captain at another major international airline in order to satisfy the requirement of 1,000 required hours as a Captain. He had done so by providing a falsified letter to SriLankan Airlines.

“Accordingly, SriLankan Airlines held an inquiry the very next day and dismissed the pilot from service on July24.

“The correct situation is that SriLankan Airlines immediately reported the matter to the Police Department with full disclosure and lodged a formal complaint on July 26 at the Katunayake Police Station. We understand that the Police are now taking further action about the falsification of documents.

“In addition, the airline also provided a full report to the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka, and the Ministry of Aviation, for further action.

“The airline did not claim money from the pilot But he was asked to repay costs of his training, which he settled in full. The paramount concerns of the National Carrier remain to ensure safety of passengers and to maintain the high standards of integrity and trustworthiness of its employees, especially those in key positions.

[Mat Tongkang]

If I am an insurance lawyer, if that said " fake " is involved in a fatal prang I will certainly dig up everything on his background to ensure that nothing is paid out by my client to cover the pax on this airline! The lawyers are going to have a field day savaging the airline.........the biggest losers will be the pax who do travel on this airline. The other losers will be the other employees who will see this airline shutdown...the litigation involved will see to it!

[ecureilx]

Well, I got to agree.

While there is a question of safety compromised or not, can you give me a view on this ?

1) the pilot was qualified
2) had current certification
3) medically fit
4) had more than sufficient hours
5) internationally qualified and has worked as PIC

The exception was he did not meet UL's flying hours required to be PIC.

Would the insurance payout be denied ? A rhetorical question, and academic one at that.

Thanks

[MachineMan]

Having been a witness to the PrivatAir episode so nicely described by FT above I can only second his take on the guy - "qualified captain" my arse...

[ecureilx]

I gotta run for cover .. :oh: :oh:

Didnt know the individual is so well known ... :eek:

I am mostly SLF, and occasionally involved in the "trade"

Cheers

[a380topgun]

Very sadly come to think of it, it has happened earlier as well but was detected at the nick of time before the individual started his line training. This is a good lesson for Airlines clamouring to hire Pilots paying them Peanuts..

[old-timer]

almost like the movie - catch me if you can, scary !:sad::eek::bored::=

[natdat]

u want to bet with u in the aircraft.........i don't think so :=