A PILOT who flew without a licence for six years has been spared jail.

Wesley Tierney, 25, lied about being a qualified pilot and spent his spare time jetting his friends around in light aircraft — once with two children.

Using forged qualifications, Tierney, who knew about planes because he was a qualified glider and gliding instructor, became an Operations Officer at North Weald Airfield, Essex, in 2010, helping aircraft take off and land. He also claimed to be a flying instructor.

Tierney, of Letchworth, Herts, was found out when colleagues became suspicious. His story echoes the 2002 film Catch Me If You Can in which Leonardo Di Caprio plays a conman posing as a pilot.

Tierney pleaded guilty to three counts of acting as flight crew without a licence and two of forgery of documents and was given a suspended prison sentence of eight months at Cambridge crown court.

■ HARRISON FORD has returned to the skies three weeks after he narrowly avoided crashing into a passenger jet. The actor, 74, flew his helicopter on Saturday. Ford (pictured right) almost hit an American Airlines jet when he landed on the wrong runway at California’s John Wayne Airport on February 13. The incident is under investigation and the star’s aviation licence may be revoked, reports TMZ.