A Toronto man has been accused by the U.S. Attorney General’s Office for the District of Hawaii of pretending to be a commercial pilot for four years to obtain hundreds of free flights on three different airlines. Dallas Pokornik, 33, who used to work as a flight attendant, allegedly utilized a fake employee ID to secure access to jump seats in the cockpit, typically reserved for off-duty pilots. Pokornik was apprehended in Panama in January on charges of wire fraud dating back to October 2, 2025. He pleaded not guilty after his extradition.
Court documents reveal that Pokornik was a flight attendant for a Toronto-based airline between 2017 and 2019. He allegedly utilized counterfeit employee identification from that airline to acquire tickets reserved for pilots and flight attendants on three other airlines, falsely claiming continued employment with the Toronto-based carrier. Air Canada, Porter Airlines, Sunwing, and WestJet have been contacted for comments, with Air Canada denying any record of Pokornik as an employee.
The airlines Pokornik flew with for free are situated in Honolulu, Chicago, and Fort Worth, Texas. If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000 US, and supervised release. Representatives of Hawaiian Airlines, United Airlines, and American Airlines, based in those cities, did not immediately respond to requests for comments. Pokornik’s public defender listed in court documents has not yet responded to CBC News inquiries.