How? Because Frank never flew. He just “dead headed” around the country in uniform and took advantage of the career perks of the time. Of course as a master con, he had a conversational knowledge of pertinent aviation subjects. His autobiography mentions that he had a working knowledge of the structural components of aircraft (which aided […]
Written on Sunday, August 3rd, 2008 by irvingprince :: 0 comments to this post
How?
Because Frank never flew. He just “dead headed” around the country in uniform and took advantage of the career perks of the time.
Of course as a master con, he had a conversational knowledge of pertinent aviation subjects. His autobiography mentions that he had a working knowledge of the structural components of aircraft (which aided one dramatic escape, see link below). Frank was no dummy. By the age of 21 he had impersonated an international airline pilot, a pediatrician, a stockbroker, a college professor and even an assistant attorney general — all while cashing $2.5 million dollars in forged checks. Talk about baffling them with BS!
Posing as a pilot on employee travel assignment, it was easy to avoid “shop talk”, and discovery, as most deadheaders just want to go back in the cabin and relax. According to Wikipedia, Frank got everything he needed free via his fake credentials. Food, airline tickets and hotels were billed directly to Pan Am. Pilots were so respected, no one dared question him and with his charm he surely disarmed any suspicions. “He made a counterfeit Pan Am ID card from a sample model while posing as a businessman and obtained a FAA pilot’s certificate by buying a display plaque, which he copied and resized down to ID card form. He purports to have forged a degree from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. He also obtained a Pan Am pilot’s uniform by claiming that the dry cleaners had lost his.”
He was a very clever man. Especially considering how young he was when most of this happened. (He’s only 59 now!) Click this link to check out some of his other exploits- http://www.crimelibrary.com/criminal_mind/scams/frank_abagnale/index.html
and this VERY interesting interview where he details how he did it-
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/lm/stories/s111098.htm
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