French Man Arrested For Allegedly Impersonating An Airline Pilot

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A man was arrested at Philadelphia International Airport Wednesday evening after he allegedly impersonated a pilot and was found in the cockpit of a passenger jet.

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Philippe Jernnard, 61, of La Rochelle, France, was a ticketed passenger on the Air France flight, bound for West Palm Beach, Florida.

According to CBS, he was dressed like a pilot, wearing a shirt with an Air France logo and carrying a black jacket with epaulets.

Jernnard was removed from the flight after being asked for his credentials, and became argumentative, CBS reports.

It is unclear how he got into the cockpit.

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He was allegedly carrying a counterfeit crew member identification card, and now faces charges of criminal trespass, tampering with records, presenting a fake ID, and impersonating a privately employed person, the Mirror reported.

He is being held on $1 million bail, according to CBS.

The case calls to mind the Italian man who was arrested after flying as a fake airline pilot in September. He told police he was inspired by the film Catch Me If You Can, about a conman who did the same thing in the 1950s.