A pilot has been jailed for lying about his flying experience to get a job with British Airways.
Craig Butfoy, 49, made false entries in his logbook to appear more experienced than he was in a bid to impress BA CityFlyer, a subsidiary of British Airways, and former Irish regional airline Stobart Air.
He also fabricated documents, including a training course certificate, and falsely claimed to have flown 1,610 hours as a captain in his job application to BA CityFlyer, according to court documents.
Butfoy, from Matfield in Kent, made the false claims between April 2016 and March 2018.
He was sentenced to 12 months in prison at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Monday after pleading guilty to four charges of fraud at an earlier hearing.
Jonathan Spence, general counsel at the Civil Aviation Authority, said: ""The Civil Aviation Authority's prosecution and the sentence imposed show that offences of this kind are taken very seriously by the Civil Aviation Authority and the courts.
@Pilot integrity is at the heart of aviation safety and we will take all steps necessary to maintain that position."
British Airways said Butfoy, a fully-qualified pilot, had been suspended and an investigation was launched as soon as BA CityFlyer became aware of the discrepancies in his CV.
"The safety of our customers and crew is always our priority," the firm said in a statement.
"At no point was there any risk to customers of colleagues."
BA CityFlyer operates Embraer 190 aircraft from London City Airport to domestic and European destinations.
Stobart Air, which was run by Aer Lingus, collapsed in June last year after financial troubles amid the pandemic.
