French Guy Poses as Pilot, Makes It to Cockpit

Apparently Philippe Jernnard thought that donning an Air France shirt and a leather jacket with epaulets on its shoulders would be enough to let him pass as a pilot. Alas, it was not, but it did get him all the way to the cockpit of a US Airways flight before he was arrested last night. Seems the 61-year-old French man had a ticket on the flight from Philadelphia to West Palm Beach, but got upset after spoke with the boarding attendant and was denied a seat in business class, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Fox 29 Philadelphia reports that Jernnard boarded, then strolled right up to the cockpit and ended up sitting in the jumpseat behind the captain, telling the flight crew he was an Air France pilot. He was also carrying an Air France bag and "some identification that looked like he was a crew member from Air France," a Philadelphia police captain says. But when he couldn't provide the proper credentials—and the original boarding attendant spotted him in the cockpit—he was made to take his seat in the cabin and then later arrested. He's been charged with several crimes including impersonating a pilot, and the FBI is investigating. It's not clear what his intentions were. (More Philippe Jeannard stories.)