Manitoba flight school now barred from training pilots put students in 'significant danger': whistleblower

A Manitoba flight school was banned from training pilots "in the interest of public safety," Transport Canada says, more than a year after a former instructor came forward with allegations the school failed to follow aviation rules and put students in "significant danger."

Transport Canada cancelled the flight training unit operator certificate of Gimli-based LS Airways Flight Academy on Nov. 19, 2024.

The federal government department said in an email to CBC News that the certificate cancellation was a "serious action," and is only taken when oversight and monetary penalties do not lead to compliance.

Wayne Liu said he and several other students alerted authorities about safety concerns at the school. They decided to report the school to Transport Canada in September 2023, he said.

"I really hope this [doesn't] happen again to other students," Liu said about why he spoke up.

WATCH | Gimli flight school put students in danger, whistleblower claims in lawsuit:

His lawsuit is one of four filed against the school in the past year alleging that the Gimli flight school faked logs of flying hours, told students to fly with jerry cans of gasoline on board, altered maintenance records and exploited students. 

The school's owner, Noura Gharib, declined to be interviewed. She said in a phone call with CBC she intends to fight the revocation.

Liu first enrolled at the school to convert a U.S. flight instructor licence into a Canadian one, and taught at LS Airways for about a month in 2023 after passing a flight test.

But Liu says he should never have gotten the instructor rating, because LS Airways did not give him the number of flight hours needed to qualify for the certification in Canada.

The owner "never put me on the flight schedule," Liu said. 

"I [told] her … even though I have some experience, we still need to practise and meet requirements for the exam. Until two or three days before the flight test, she still never flew with me and [faked the] hours on the PTR."

"PTR" stands for pilot training record, a logbook required to obtain pilot permits and ratings.

A pilot must complete a minimum of 30 hours of dual flight instruction (training where a certified instructor is in the aircraft) for a Class 4 instructor rating, among other requirements. Applicants receive some credits if they previously held that rating — through foreign accreditation, for example.