Forty US pilots continued to fly while they were receiving disability payments, according to federal offiicals.
The pilots claimed to be medically fit but were claiming Social Security disabilities.
The later ranged from schizophrenia to drug and heart problems, said prosecutors with the US Attorney’s office in Fresnco, California.
An 18-month review of 40,000 pilots in Northern California began last July as a Homeland Security project to look into the fraudulent use of Social Security numbers, said the Associated Press.
Cross-checking lists of pilots and people turning in Social Security claims, government agents found some pilots wrongfully receiving disability benefits.
An FAA spokesman said it was unclear how many of the pilots flew as professionals but a least a dozen held commercial or airline transport licenses.
Thirty pilots are being charged with making false statements to a government agency.
Report by David Wilkening
