Canadian Man Arrested For Posing As Pilot To Secure Hundreds Of Free Flights

A Canadian man has been arrested after he tricked his way into hundreds of free flights by posing as a commercial pilot and a flight attendant between January and October 2024. Dallas Pokornik, 33, a former flight attendant for a Canadian airline, was arrested in Panama after being indicted on wire fraud charges in federal court in Hawaii.

Over the course of four years, Pokornik falsely claimed he was an airline pilot and presented a fictitious employee identification card to obtain hundreds of flights at no cost on three different airlines, according to the US Attorney's Office, District of Hawaii.

"During the fraudulent scheme, Pokornik requested a jump seat in the cockpit of the aircraft, even though Pokornik was not a pilot and did not have an airman's certificate," Michael Nammar, the assistant US attorney prosecuting the case, stated.

The jump seat is typically used by pilots, air carrier inspectors from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), evaluators from the Department of Defense or National Transportation Safety Board operators. Other individuals need to request a seat and verify their identity before securing approval to fly there.

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Pokornik allegedly used a fake employment badge from Air Canada when he was executing the scam. He also asked for travel benefits typically reserved for airline pilots or flight attendants. Free flights are among the top perks of working as a pilot or flight attendant. The benefit is based on seniority and tenure.

The 33-year-old Toronto citizen was employed by the Canadian airline for two years between July 2017 and October 2019, but he was never a pilot. If convicted, Pokornik faces up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, plus a term of supervised release.

In June last year, a man accused of falsely posing as a flight attendant was also convicted in Florida. Tiron Alexander, 35, was found guilty by a federal jury after taking 34 free flights that he obtained by pretending to be a flight attendant or a pilot.

Alexander's scheme to obtain free tickets for a Florida-based airline began in 2018 and continued until 2024.