His hands gave him away before his face did.
On October 29, 2010, a young man boarded Air Canada flight 018 from Hong Kong to Vancouver, disguised as a Caucasian old man.
He wore a commercial silicone mask called “The Elder”, a brown leather cap, glasses, and a thin cardigan.
According to a bulletin from the Canadian border agency, the disguise was so good that it failed in only one detail: he had youthful-looking hands.
He passed through security with a boarding pass swapped with another passenger and, according to a Canadian official, a U.S. passport was involved.
Hours after takeoff, he locked himself in the bathroom. He emerged as a man in his 20s.
A passenger saw a young Asian man trying to sit in the supposed old man’s seat and alerted the crew.
When they landed in Vancouver, agents were waiting for him. When they asked him to put the mask back on, he transformed back into the old man and even imitated his movements.
The agency described it as an “incredible case of concealment”. He sought refugee protection as soon as he set foot on Canadian soil.