French citizen charged with fraud following incident at Philadelphia International Airport

PHILADELPHIA — A French citizen was charged Tuesday with fraud in connection with his alleged attempt to pose as an Air France pilot at Philadelphia International Airport. The charge is the result of an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Philippe Jeannard, 61, of La Rochelle, France, is charged with one count of fraud in connection with an identification document.

According to court documents, when Jeannard boarded a commercial airplane March 20, 2013, he possessed a fraudulent Air France identification card of a former Air France employee and used that fraudulent identification card to gain access to the plane's cockpit.

If convicted, Jeannard faces a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney K.T. Newton, Eastern District of Pennsylvania.