Man allegedly posed as pilot, flight attendant to get hundreds of free flights, officials say
FILE - Pilot seen in uniform. (Getty Images)
A Canadian man posed as a commercial pilot and a flight attendant in order to get hundreds of free flights over four years, officials said.
What we know:
Dallas Pokornik, 33, was arrested in Panama after being indicted on wire fraud charges in federal court last October.
Court documents said Pokornik posed as a flight attendant for a Toronto-based airline from 2017 to 2019 and even used a fake employee ID from that carrier to get free tickets reserved for pilots and flight attendants on three other airlines.
During one incident, Pokornik requested to sit in the jump seat in the cockpit with pilots, prosecutors said.
What we don't know:
The indictment did not identify the airlines that let him fly for free except to say they are based in Honolulu, Chicago and Fort Worth, Texas.
Representatives for Hawaiian Airlines, United Airlines and American Airlines — which are respectively based in those cities — didn’t immediately respond to emails from The Associated Press seeking comment.
The indictment also does not identify the Toronto-based airline. Air Canada, with headquarters in Montreal and a hub in Toronto, said in an email Wednesday it had no record of anyone named Pokornik having worked at the carrier.
What's next:
If convicted, Pokornik could face up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, plus a term of supervised release.
The Source: Information for this article was taken from The Associated Press and a news release from the Department of Justice. This story was reported from San Jose.