LarryU

"A SWEDISH conman who faked being an airline pilot for 13 years has told how it was "surprisingly easy".

Thomas Salme was banned from flying for a year and fined just £1,700 after he confessed to piloting passengers jets without a licence.

The 41-year-old revealed how he trained himself on a SIMULATOR before landing a job with Scandinavian airline Air One - and won promotion to captain after three years."

Full Story.

I think someone should make a movie about this.

Ancien Maestro

Guy Sleeps at a Holiday Inn and is stoked for 13 years? Wow, this hotel chain must really put out some numbers.

jbcarioca

Even the article pointed out that he had had a commercial pilots license. In some countries, the US for example, a commercial license does not expire. The impression given by the article was that he faked experience rather than faking the license itself. It would be interesting to have the actual data.

It seems to show how easy it is to fly a modern airliner, does it not?

sobore

So after a year he can get right back at it?

Palal

We can assume that he was not dealing too much with extreme situations, where one would find training quite useful IMO.

jbcarioca

If all the reports are correct he had very extensive simulator training. "Extreme situations" are only practiced in simulators and it is quite likely that he may have had excellent proficiency. The results of teh airline testing seem to suggest that he did.

When I have trained new pilots the ones who'd been using PC-based simulation games did much better than others. Experience is usually repeating hours of boredom and modern airliners are very easy to fly.

I have trained commercial pilots, which this guy apparently was, to Airline Transport Pilot proficiency in as little as three days. I would not want such people as Pilot in Command of a 747 immediately, but freshness and depth of training are far more important than experience as a general rule.

Others will have different views.

The pilots who get the plaudits, Chesney Sullenberger for example, are often glider pilots aerobatic pilots or instructor pilots in their off-hours. The differentiating factors seem rarely to be time spent in an airliner cockpit.

blueline7

I agree...would have been A LOT more impressive a feat if he did not know how to fly....

CPRich

I think one needs to read beyond the sensationalism of the journalists and step back to truly understand the situation.

At one time he was a licensed commercial pilot, with significant simulator time and 10K+ hours in the cockpit. This is somewhat like Michael Shumacher/Mario Andretti/Jeff Gordon/pick your favorite driver forgetting to renew his driver's license, getting stopped for speeding and finding an expired license and blaring a headline about an "Unlicensed driver raining terror on our streets".

If he was flying for 13 year, I assume he did what every other employed pilot did - annual medical exams, required simulation time, check rides, evaluations, etc., etc.

One of the leaders in my firm never graduated high school. He founded his own company, developed business skills over a long career, and it a very accomplished business man. I wouldn't nullify all he has accomplished because he didn't finish the typical Step 1.

Not to say, what this guy did was right. But he wasn't a complete novice who plopped himself in a 747 left hand seat by playing Microsoft Flight Simulator. I suspect he was as competent a pilot as most others, 13 years later.

djk7

Assuming anyone would hire him, which seems unlikely.

stupidhead

IMO if the guy didn't have a license, he should get one retroactively.

Palal

While I would not have trouble flying with him in command, I really hope we don't get copycats. Chances are, one of the copycats will not turn out so well .