Pilot jailed for lying about flying experience to get British Airways job

A commercial pilot has been sentenced for offences of fraud, making false entries and altering entries in his pilot’s logbook in order to obtain employment with BA CityFlyer, a subsidary of British Airways.

Craig Butfoy, 49, claimed to have flown 1,610 hours as a captain on a job application before getting a job with BA CityFlyer, faking documents to back up his application.

Fabricated documents included a training course certificate, according to court documents the Mirror reported on Friday, April 1.

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.

Commenting on the case, Jonathan Spence, General Counsel at the UK 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,” he added.

British Airways said Butfoy, a fully-qualified pilot, had been suspended and an investigation was launched as soon as BA CityFlyer noticed discrepancies in his CV, the Mirror reports.

“The safety of our customers and crew is always our priority,” British Aiways said in a statement.

“At no point was there any risk to customers of colleagues.”

BA CityFlyer operates from London City Airport to domestic and European destinations.

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