Fake 'Bus driver on the run!
Fake 'Bus driver on the run!
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Discussion

hidetheelephants

Original Poster:

34,510 posts

219 months

Saturday 11th May 2013
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Michael Fay, ex-USAF pilot, flew A320s for 8 months before being rumbled by a keyboard warrior! eek

Eric Mc

125,116 posts

291 months

Saturday 11th May 2013
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Which forum rumbled him?

hidetheelephants

Original Poster:

34,510 posts

219 months

Saturday 11th May 2013
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The BBC don't say; once upon a time it would have been pprune, but more likely Flyer or one of the others.

Simpo Two

92,027 posts

291 months

Saturday 11th May 2013
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Landing an A380 at Gatwick with no training seems pretty good to me...

MitchT

17,095 posts

235 months

Saturday 11th May 2013
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If he was ex-military why didn't he just go via the correct channels? It's not like he was some kid who dreamed of flying but couldn't hope of stumping up the prohibitively high training costs - he was already 'in the loop', so to speak. It must be easier to go from military aviation to civil aviation than it is to go into civil aviation from nowhere. Plus, I imagine an ex-military pilot would make a better airline pilot (particularly when things get difficult) than someone who's only ever flown a sim and then gone straight to FBW airliners. Seems like he could have had what we wanted but went about it the wrong way. Perhaps there's more to this than meets the eye - no longer in the military due to incompetence, perhaps, and thus unable to qualify for civil?

Crafty_

13,927 posts

226 months

Saturday 11th May 2013
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Another story: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/aviation/10050819/...

Does make you wonder why he was so desperate to fly, maybe he wouldn't pass a medical ?


mattdaniels

7,362 posts

308 months

Saturday 11th May 2013
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Simpo Two said:
Landing an A380 at Gatwick with no training seems pretty good to me...
Where does it say he didn't have any training?

Jayyylo

986 posts

173 months

Saturday 11th May 2013
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Total speculation ahead: He was probably discharged on medical grounds and which meant he technically isn't capable of flying anymore. If he was to get a pilot's job then he would potentially lose a medical pension or possibly be charged with some sort of fraud for faking symptoms to get his medical discharge in the first place.

Eric Mc

125,116 posts

291 months

Saturday 11th May 2013
quotequote all
mattdaniels said:
Simpo Two said:
Landing an A380 at Gatwick with no training seems pretty good to me...
Where does it say he didn't have any training?
Where does it say he was flying A380s?

mattdaniels

7,362 posts

308 months

Saturday 11th May 2013
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laugh

Simpo Two

92,027 posts

291 months

Saturday 11th May 2013
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Sorry, I meant A320. Civil aircraft all look the same to me.

I thought the point of the article was that he was a fake, with fake qualifications and paperwork. From that I deduced he had had no training on A320s. Where does the article say he trained on the marque?

Eric Mc

125,116 posts

291 months

Saturday 11th May 2013
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I wonder what he flew in the USAF?

IanMorewood

4,309 posts

274 months

Saturday 11th May 2013
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Simple answer is that hes lost his commercial licence for whatever reason and decided flying on false papers was better than not flying anymore. Next stop flying rubber dog turds out of Cambodia.

Simpo Two

92,027 posts

291 months

Saturday 11th May 2013
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Hong Kong if you know your quotes nerd

hidetheelephants

Original Poster:

34,510 posts

219 months

Saturday 11th May 2013
quotequote all
Simpo Two said:
Hong Kong if you know your quotes nerd
They moved the production line as HK labour rates are too high. hehe

mattdaniels

7,362 posts

308 months

Sunday 12th May 2013
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Simpo Two said:
Where does the article say he trained on the marque?
It doesn't, that's why I haven't made any sensationalist claims like "landing with no training" because I simply don't know the facts.
That said, I would find it highly unlikely that an ex military pilot would be able to operate a civilian airliner successfully for 8 months without any training. If I were a betting man I would guess that he's fully trained and had previously been fully qualified but something has lapsed (perhaps medical related) that he can't get back, so he's faked some paperwork in order to carry on doing what he was doing.

fatboy b

9,665 posts

242 months

Sunday 12th May 2013
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Simpo Two said:
Sorry, I meant A320. Civil aircraft all look the same to me.

I thought the point of the article was that he was a fake, with fake qualifications and paperwork. From that I deduced he had had no training on A320s. Where does the article say he trained on the marque?
You need to get a job with The Daily Mail. You'll do well. hehe

Simpo Two

92,027 posts

291 months

Sunday 12th May 2013
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Oh listen you fools, I meant 'no training on whatever blasted airliner it was'.

If you can prove me wrong, fine.

Eric Mc

125,116 posts

291 months

Sunday 12th May 2013
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Not many airlines operate the A380 yet - it's a bit big and expensive.

The airline he was flying for was Afriqiyah Airways, which is a Libyan airline currently recovering from the civil war.

mattdaniels

7,362 posts

308 months

Sunday 12th May 2013
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Simpo Two said:
Oh listen you fools, I meant 'no training on whatever blasted airliner it was'.

If you can prove me wrong, fine.
You stated that he landed the aircraft with no training. I understand that you mean he landed the A320 and he's not trained on it. I'm simply saying you have no evidence to back that statement up. If that makes me a fool in your eyes, fair enough. What I am also saying, is that I would find it extremely unlikely that he had no training on the A320 (caveat being that in Airbusland you can be trained on one of the "family" of aircraft and fly the others, which in this case is the A318, A319, A320 and A321). Indeed, pilots have line checks and 6 monthly sim checks so it's almost inconceivable to believe he's had no training on the type, and that what is much more likely to have happened is that something in his paperwork has become invalid for some reason that he can't recover from but has chosen to fudge the paperwork in order to be able to be employed as a pilot.