Air Canada pilot flew under the radar for 16 years while allegedly operating without a proper license

TORONTO — A former Air Canada pilot has been charged after flying for years without a proper license, Canadian police said Tuesday.

Geoffrey Wall, of Barrie, Ontario, is alleged to have operated as an airline captain between 2009 and 2025 without a license to fly large commercial passenger planes, according to Peel Regional Police.

He is said to have flown more than 900 flights domestically and internationally without the required license. Air Canada said Wall, 59, held a valid commercial pilot license, but was promoted to captain without the required airline transport pilot license.

“This pilot had a 27-year career and we are alleging that since 2009 has been flying for years misrepresenting himself and his credentials to his employer and regulatory officials using fraudulent licensing documents,” deputy police chief Nick Milinovich said. “He rose to the position of pilot in command where for almost 17 years he flew Boeing 767s, 777s and 787s.”

The airline said he was removed from active duty once it was discovered that he did not have the correct license and that it was voluntarily reported to Transport Canada, the regulator. The pilot is no longer employed by the airline.

Police said anomalies were detected in a documentation check. Transport Canada contacted police earlier this year.

Air Canada claimed safety was not compromised and an audit of its pilots found no other instances of non-compliance.

“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,” the airline said in a statement.

“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.”

The airline declined to comment further due to privacy law and an active criminal investigation.

The airline, which did not name the pilot, said he has been fined by Transport Canada for not having the correct license to be an aircraft captain.

Police also say the accused filed a false report to police about allegedly stolen pilot documentation.