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TURIN, Italy — Police have arrested a man who scored at least one free flight by dressing up as a pilot and slipping into the cockpit of a plane.
The man, who went by the name Andrea Sirlo on Facebook, told police he was inspired by the movie "Catch Me If You Can," which tells the story of American con artist Frank Abignale, who flew more than 1 million miles in the 1950s by wearing a PanAm uniform and forging a pilot's license, according to the BBC.
Authorities said the man sat as a "third pilot" in the cockpit of an Air Dolomiti plane on a flight from Munich to Turin in April. They were unsure if the 32-year-old unemployed man had made more than one free trip by impersonating a pilot.
"On at least one occasion in 2012, pretending to be a pilot of a foreign commercial airline, and with a fake name, he succeeded in flying as the third pilot in the cockpit," police said in prepared remarks.
A flight on My Flightbook, which allows users to track their flights, shows a pilot by the name of Andrea Sirlo as having flown the same route on Oct. 23, 2011.
The man had been wanted for some time by Italian police and was finally identified at the Torino-Caselle airport check-in. Police told Italian news agency ANSA he led them to a garage where he kept uniforms, false badges and flight theory manuals.
The man, who has a history of fraud, was charged with attempting to threaten air security and assuming a false identity. His motive remains under investigation.
Image credit: Sky News
