…earns nearly $3 million Canadian dollars
By Our Reporter
A man accused of possessing fake pilot’s license is currently facing criminal charges for flying tens of thousands of passengers for nearly 17 years, Canadian police said on Tuesday.
According to the Cable News Network, CNN, the former Air Canada pilot Geoffrey Wall was arrested June 1 after investigators say he captained over 900 domestic and international flights from 2009 to 2025, without ever obtaining the proper license or completing the mandatory testing.
CNN quoted Peel Regional Police Deputy Chief Milinovich as saying in a news conference in Ontario that, “This investigation and the details surrounding it read like a movie script,” adding that Geoffrey Wall earned nearly $3 million Canadian dollars (more than $2 million US dollars) salary.
The report added that Wall was licensed to fly commercial planes for his entire 27 year career with Air Canada, but police say he never possessed an Airline Transport Pilot License for Aeroplanes, also known as an ATPL-A, which was required when he was promoted to captain in 2009.
Milinovich said: “This is very similar to a doctor that is licensed to practice family medicine but is doing brain surgery in their office,
“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.”
But there was a twist when Wall was caught after a routine examination of his credentials in 2025 revealed “anomalies… within the pilot license documentation,” and Air Canada notified regulators, the investigators said.
Well reportedly retired in 2025 before the regulatory and criminal investigation, dubbed “Project Icarus,” was launched in January.
According to the CNN, the airline noted Wall was a licensed commercial pilot and regularly showed he was capable of safely flying large planes.
“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.
The airline also went on to say: “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.”
Wall was fined by Transport Canada and faces seven criminal charges, including fraud over $5,000, two counts of uttering forged documents, and three counts of possession of a counterfeit mark, police said.
He is expected to appear in court on June 29, 2026.
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