For 17 years, Geoffrey Wall sat in the cockpit of Air Canada’s Boeing 767, 777 and 787 aircraft as the captain in command. He piloted more than 900 flights. He transported tens of thousands of passengers. And he was paid $2.9 million for a job he was, according to Ontario police, never legally authorized to do.
Wall, 59, was a certified commercial pilot and met the requirements to hold the position of first officer. But he did not have the Airline Transport Pilot Licence required by Transport Canada to command a passenger aircraft. Police allege that he submitted forged documents to obtain the captain position and kept up the deception without being detected for nearly two decades.
Wall retired last year after 27 years at Air Canada, before any investigation began. The irregularity came to light in 2025, when a routine Transport Canada review found that his permits were not in order. Four months later, authorities charged him with seven criminal counts. The question that remains hanging in the air is just one: how is it possible that no internal check by the airline or the regulator noticed it earlier?
