Co-pilot who posed as captain flew hundreds of passengers across Europe for months

A co-pilot who allegedly forged certificates to qualify as a captain had supposedly been flying commercial jets across Europe for months before his scam was discovered. 

The man was employed by Lithuanian "wet-lease" airline Avion Express. A wet lease or ACMI lease allows a company to "rent out" aircraft, crew, maintenance, and insurance to other airlines, including Polish LOT, the British EasyJet, the Turkish-German SunExpress, and the Lufthansa subsidiary Eurowings. 

Reports said that prior to his stint as an unqualified captain, the co-pilot, whom his employer did not name, flew as a first officer for Garuda Indonesia, the Southeast Asian country's flag carrier.

A spokeswoman for Avion Express released a statement to German-language aviation news website AeroTelegraph, saying, "The company recently became aware of unverified information about [the co-pilot's] work experience. An internal investigation was immediately launched and is currently ongoing."

Additionally, the company said its recruitment process remains compliant with global aviation standards. It assumed that "safety and compliance" are considered the "highest priorities" of the company. 

The company has since fired the pilot. 

According to a report by Daily Mail, a spokesperson for Eurowings told a German newspaper that "the investigation into the case is the responsibility of Avion Express and is not yet complete. We are currently waiting for the facts to be clarified."

Avion Express was founded in 2005 and has a fleet of over 50 aircraft, made up primarily of A320s and A321s. The airline charters commercial flights throughout Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East.