A man pretended to be a flight captain at the wet-lease airline "Avion Express" and sat in the cockpit although he did not have the necessary qualifications. He also flew in Europe.
The report in the Aero Telegraph reads like the story of Frank Abagnale, the con man and cheque forger played by Leonardo di Caprio in the 2002 film "Catch Me If You Can". The man who posed as an airline captain for the Lithuanian Avion Express last summer - without the relevant qualifications - must have been similarly hardened.
Under contract with Avion Express, the man flew for the Lithuanian airline as Captain at least during last summer, although he had never obtained the qualifications to do so. Previously, he is said to have only worked as a co-pilot (first officer) for Garuda Indonesia. He then allegedly falsified his documents so that he was allowed to fly as a captain for Avion Express.
"We can confirm that the individual in question was a former pilot who worked for our company," the Aero Telegraph quoted a spokeswoman for the company as saying. "An internal investigation was launched immediately and is still ongoing."
As a so-called 'wet lease airline', Avion Express leases aircraft including crew, maintenance and insurance to other airlines, including Western European airlines such as Eurowings.
According to research by the Aero Telegraph, the man therefore flew throughout Europe and also in Germany - including for the Lufthansa subsidiary. "We have taken up the issue with our safety experts for closer examination. We currently have no further details," reads the statement from Eurowings.
