Fake pilot arrested as US Airways flight was about to take off
A 61-year-old French man was arrested at Philadelphia International Airport and charged with impersonating a pilot after airline officials found him in the cockpit of a plane scheduled for takeoff, police said Friday.
The crew of a US Airways flight bound for West Palm Beach, Fla., found Philippe Jernnard of La Rochelle, France, in the jump seat behind the pilot on Wednesday evening, removing him after he was unable to produce valid credentials and became argumentative, police said.
Jernnard, who was a ticketed passenger, was wearing a white shirt with an Air France logo and had a black jacket with epaulets on the shoulders, police said. Officer Christine O'Brien said police found him in possession of a counterfeit Air France crew member ID card.
Air France said Jernnard is not one of its employees and was not wearing the airline's uniform.
It's not clear how Jernnard got into the cockpit, but one security expert said he didn't view it as a breach.
Pilots can typically ride for free in the jump seat of another airline, but they must make arrangements ahead of time and their presence would be noted on a passenger manifest. That manifest is reviewed by the pilot before takeoff — meaning that Jernnard didn't have a chance of remaining, said Douglas Laird, former security director for Northwest Airlines.
"The guy can't do any harm sitting up there. He has no access to the controls sitting there. I think the system worked," said Laird, who now runs an airline security consultancy in Reno, Nev.
Police said there's no indication Jernnard meant any harm. A US Airways spokeswoman referred questions to the FBI, which confirmed it is investigating but declined to comment Friday.
O'Brien said Jernnard initially became upset at the gate when he asked to be upgraded to business class.
"The (US Airways) employee gate agent told the male there was no space left in business class. He became irate," O'Brien said.
Jernnard then boarded the plane and made his way to the jump seat.
He was charged with criminal trespass, forgery, records tampering, false impersonation of a person privately employed, and providing false identification to law enforcement. He was jailed on $1 million bail pending a preliminary hearing scheduled for April 5. Federal charges are also expected.
Jernnard is represented by the Philadelphia public defender's office, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In France, police in La Rochelle as well as the national police declined to comment, saying they are not allowed to disclose information about individuals.
Jernnard's stunt mirrored one by con man Frank Abagnale Jr., whose exploits were chronicled in the 2002 hit film "Catch Me If You Can." In the movie, Abagnale, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, is able to make his way into a plane's cockpit, bluffing his way past security and distracting the FBI by donning a pilot's uniform.
Laird said he can recall a few other cases before the Sept. 11 attacks in which civilians talked their way into the cockpit and were not discovered until the planes had actually taken off.
"If you are civilian, you can't pass yourself off as an Air France pilot because within about 30 seconds the pilots go, 'This guy has not a clue,'" Laird said. "It would be like you and I passing ourselves off as surgeons."
The crew of a US Airways flight bound for West Palm Beach, Fla., found Philippe Jernnard of La Rochelle, France, in the jump seat behind the pilot on Wednesday evening, removing him after he was unable to produce valid credentials and became argumentative, police said.
Jernnard, who was a ticketed passenger, was wearing a white shirt with an Air France logo and had a black jacket with epaulets on the shoulders, police said. Officer Christine O'Brien said police found him in possession of a counterfeit Air France crew member ID card.
Air France said Jernnard is not one of its employees and was not wearing the airline's uniform.
It's not clear how Jernnard got into the cockpit, but one security expert said he didn't view it as a breach.
Pilots can typically ride for free in the jump seat of another airline, but they must make arrangements ahead of time and their presence would be noted on a passenger manifest. That manifest is reviewed by the pilot before takeoff — meaning that Jernnard didn't have a chance of remaining, said Douglas Laird, former security director for Northwest Airlines.
"The guy can't do any harm sitting up there. He has no access to the controls sitting there. I think the system worked," said Laird, who now runs an airline security consultancy in Reno, Nev.
Police said there's no indication Jernnard meant any harm. A US Airways spokeswoman referred questions to the FBI, which confirmed it is investigating but declined to comment Friday.
O'Brien said Jernnard initially became upset at the gate when he asked to be upgraded to business class.
"The (US Airways) employee gate agent told the male there was no space left in business class. He became irate," O'Brien said.
Jernnard then boarded the plane and made his way to the jump seat.
He was charged with criminal trespass, forgery, records tampering, false impersonation of a person privately employed, and providing false identification to law enforcement. He was jailed on $1 million bail pending a preliminary hearing scheduled for April 5. Federal charges are also expected.
Jernnard is represented by the Philadelphia public defender's office, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In France, police in La Rochelle as well as the national police declined to comment, saying they are not allowed to disclose information about individuals.
Jernnard's stunt mirrored one by con man Frank Abagnale Jr., whose exploits were chronicled in the 2002 hit film "Catch Me If You Can." In the movie, Abagnale, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, is able to make his way into a plane's cockpit, bluffing his way past security and distracting the FBI by donning a pilot's uniform.
Laird said he can recall a few other cases before the Sept. 11 attacks in which civilians talked their way into the cockpit and were not discovered until the planes had actually taken off.
"If you are civilian, you can't pass yourself off as an Air France pilot because within about 30 seconds the pilots go, 'This guy has not a clue,'" Laird said. "It would be like you and I passing ourselves off as surgeons."
Just another shining example of the fantastic job the TSA is doing keeping people safe.
Never. Â Flying. Â Again.
Is that you, Frank Abagnale?Â
@washcomom I concur
Nice hairpiece. Â "It looks so natural, no one will know it's a wig." Â *wink, wink*
Funny how when I read Fox News, I always seem to get much more of the story. Apparently the man couldn't get an upgrade to business class so he told them he was a pilot. He went to the cockpit but could not produce the necessary credentials and police were called. Â
They found him seated in the jumpseat behind the pilot.  To the uninformed, this implies that the unauthorized man was ferreted out a split second before takeoff and a potential disaster was narrowly avoided. This is not the case at all.
Suffice to say that there are several protocols for a pilot to ride in the cockpit, including checking proper credentials (there are several) and electronic verification (which must match the credentials). Then there is the friendly banter and benign questions which quickly identify a fraud. Â
He could not have had the electronic verification or we wouldn't be reading about this. Obviously, he raised the suspicion of the crew, otherwise, police would not have been called. EVEN if he WAS an Air France pilot, he would not have been allowed to ride in the cockpit.Â
The plane would have never left the gate until all these issues were satisfactorily resolved. Even then, the captain has the authority to deny the ride if the "pilot" doesn't pass the "smell test" or for any reason whatsoever. That this guy was arrested "just as the flight was about to take off" is pretty far from the truth.
Thank god for fauxe nooze and conspirator, otherwise we'd all have been completely misinformed of the life changing story...D'OH !
@sargerator Oh yes, trot out the tired 'fauze nooze' babble.. I guess the record is still broken and you obviously don't have any new material. Do you have anything USEFUL to add? Ever?
@Conspirator Good analysis. First red flag would be the whole "upgrade me because I'm a pilot." Air crew deadheading to another city usually get the very last seats available - often a middle seat way in the back somewhere.
maybe he was lost
Hey, we have a "fake pilot" on here........Thoughts and prayers.
We've also got a fake bus driver on here...his best quote ever ?/, "I've got an explanation. A perfect one. I'm a dope. Not a run-of-the-mill dope, the world's champ." Thanks RK !
@old_dollorÂ
Good one. Not only do we have our own "fake pilot" here on the KATU website he is also a fake human.
@RalphCramden @old_dollor Party pooper.
@Pvpbw @Fake Pilot @Sundowner Thanks for keeping THAT a secret.
@Fake Pilot @Sundowner Hey, I didn't tell anyone I sold you that tube of mullet wax.
@Sundowner @Fake Pilot What kind of freak show do you think I am?
@Fake Pilot Good to know.  And the haircut?  Cuz that mop-top's gotta go.  Got any pics with a mullet?
@Sundowner @Fake Pilot @Pvpbw Not even close!!!  My eyes are blue.
@Fake Pilot @Pvpbw  Do you need a haircut?  Wait -- that isn't you in the pic, right?  Pleeeezzzzz say it ain't so!
@Pvpbw @Fake Pilot @RalphCramden @old_dollor The pic I sent you was a little old.  =(
@Fake Pilot @RalphCramden @old_dollor You didn't tell me you had been arrested. And I think you should get a hair cut
did he call shotgun?