Federal charges filed against man accused of impersonating pilot at Philly airport

Published November 30, 2015

Pilot impostor makes it to cockpit before he's caught

A French man accused of impersonating a pilot after sitting in an airliner cockpit at Philadelphia International Airport now faces federal charges.

The U.S. district attorney's office says 61-year-old Philippe Jeannard, of La Rochelle, was charged Monday with using a fraudulent identity. He already faced state trespass, forgery and false impersonation charges.

Authorities say Jeannard was wearing a shirt with an Air France logo and carrying a counterfeit Air France ID card when he boarded a Florida-bound US Airways flight Wednesday.

Jeannard was a ticketed passenger, but prosecutors say he sat in a cockpit jump seat behind the pilot, then became verbally abusive. The affidavit says Jeannard told crew members he was an Air France pilot.

Jeannard remains in custody. It's unclear whether he has an attorney on the federal charges.

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