Dutch court extends detention of passenger pilot suspected of flying for years on fake license
By APFriday, March 5, 2010
Dutch court jails pilot with alleged faked license
AMSTERDAM — A Dutch court has extended for 14 days the detention of a man suspected of flying passenger jets with a forged license.
The man, identified as a 41-year-old Swede who lives in Milan, was pulled from the cockpit of a Boeing 737 Tuesday shortly before it was to depart from Amsterdam for Ankara, Turkey, carrying 101 passengers.
A lawyer for Turkish airline Corendon says the man had flown for the company for two years. Dutch police say the man was relieved at being caught, and claimed to have worked for airlines around Europe for more than a decade.
Prosecution spokeswoman Natasja Keijzer said Friday the man faces charges of forgery and flying without a valid license, but is not likely to serve more than a year in prison if convicted.
