Pilot With Forged Documents Put Lives In Danger

American national Michael Fay settled in Alton, Hampshire and is currently subject to a police manhunt. Why you ask? The 59 year old Michael Fay was a former US Air force pilot and worked for Afriqiyah Airways the Libyan national carrier and during his time as a pilot which was an eight month spell for the airline made 8 landings at Gatwick airport. The air plane that he piloted was a 320 Airbus which seats 144 passengers. A fellow pilot became suspicious of Fay when talking to him on an internet forum and alerted his suspicion to the police.

Why was the other pilot suspicious of Fay? His suspicion was correct, Fay was found to have forged his pilot’s licence and medical certificates in order to get the job as the pilot, he had flow 144 passengers in each of his flights without being legally able to fly. The reason that Michael Fay got away with this for so long and not to mention if not alerted to the police would of got away with it for longer is because he is a smart conman, he submitted his forgeries at the time Gaddafi’s regime fell.

Why does that make any difference you may ask, Gaddafi was the owner of Afriqiyah airways which only resumed its service in July 2012 after Gaddafi’s death ceased the service. Fay targeted the Libyan airliner in a time where the country was unstable and volatile which reflected in Afriqiyah airways losing a lot of its safety accreditation making it much easier for Fay to bypass the system.

The conman was due in court on the 3rd May but failed to appear and is still on the run from the police and aviation authority. He is believed to be looking for work as a pilot or a flight instructor in another country with being believed to have fled Britain before his court appearance. Its scary to think a man on a fake pilot licence that may not be medically fit has flown thousands of passengers putting their lives in danger.