Man Arrested for Flying with Fake Pilot Credentials

Man Arrested for Flying with Fake Pilot Credentials

In Rome, on September 23, 2012, a 32-year-old man was caught flying as a false airplane pilot. He created a false identity, naming himself ‘Andrea Sirlo.’ He home-made a pilot’s uniform and used forged identity cards to fly as a “third pilot” free of charge at least once. The flight was from Munich to Turin in April. Sirlo introduced himself as a captain to a civil aviation lieutenant, who thought he was too young for the job.

Supposedly, ‘Sirlo’ wanted to “be like Frank Abagnale...” in the Leonardo DiCaprio movie, Catch Me If You Can. The movie is about a man named Frank Abagnale, a real-life con man who flew more than once as a fake American pilot in the 1960’s. Sirlo told the police “I flew free on only one flight. On that occasion they invited me into the cockpit as a third pilot.”

Sirlo was an unemployed criminal when he was let into the cockpit. He had several offenses, including fraud. After his arrest, the police searched Sirlo’s house where they found fake identity cards, several pilot uniforms, two fake resumes, training manuals and an airport staff parking permit.

Nikusha Beatty

Sources:
McKenna, Josephine. "Man Fakes Pilot Credentials to Fly for Free." (online forum message). The Telegraph. September 23, 2012. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/9560900/Man-fakes-pilot-credentials-to-fly-for-free.html (accessed September 23, 2012).