A former flight attendant posed as a pilot and received hundreds of free flights, US authorities say
HONOLULU (AP) — A former flight attendant for a Canadian airline who served as a commercial pilot and now receives hundreds of free flights from U.S. airlines as a flight attendant, authorities said.
Dallas Pokornik, 33, of Toronto, was arrested in Panama after being indicted on wire fraud charges in federal court in Hawaii last October. He pleaded not guilty following his extradition on Tuesday.
According to court documents, Pokornik worked as a flight attendant for a Toronto-based airline from 2017 to 2019, then used a fake employee ID from that airline to obtain tickets reserved for pilots and flight attendants of three other airlines.
U.S. prosecutors said Tuesday that Pokornik even requested to sit in an extra seat in the cockpit. “jump seat” – generally reserved for off-duty pilots. It was not clear from court documents whether he actually got into the cockpit of a plane, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to say.
The indictment did not name the airlines, other than stating that their headquarters were in Honolulu, Chicago and Fort Worth, Texas. Representatives for Hawaiian Airlines, United Airlines and American Airlines, based in those cities respectively, did not immediately respond to emails from The Associated Press seeking comment.
Air Canada, based in Toronto, also did not respond to an email seeking comment.
U.S. prosecutors in Hawaii said the scheme lasted four years.
A U.S. magistrate judge ordered Pokornik to remain in custody on Tuesday. The federal advocate declined to comment.
one in 2023 off-duty airline pilot While in the cockpit of a Horizon Air flight, he immediately said, “I’m not well” I’m trying to cut the engines in mid-flight. That pilot, Joseph Emerson, later told police he was struggling with depression.
a federal judge sentenced him to prison last November.
The allegations against Pokornik are reminiscent of the movie “Catch Me If You Can” starring Leonardo DiCaprio, which tells the story of Frank Abagnale posing as a pilot, defrauding an airline company and getting a free flight.
