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See the original image at telegraph.co.uk

Teen convinces airline bosses that he is an aviation tycoon

telegraph.co.uk — In a scam that recalls the Steven Spielberg movie, Catch Me If You Can, a teenage boy has tricked British aviation executives into believing that he was a tycoon about to launch his own airline, it has emerged.

Who dugg this? Made popular Jul 20, 2009

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  • blairmiller, on 07/20/2009, -2/+196Doesn't sound like he's "suffering" from autism at all ... more like he's a bloody brilliant autistic teenager.
  • popstation, on 07/20/2009, -0/+176he got further in life in 6 mo than I would in a life time :)

    it's sad actually :(
  • Jammer22, on 07/19/2009, -13/+168Genius, he would probably run the airlines better then the current managment
  • Iamien, on 07/20/2009, -3/+120Spy sappin' my airline!
  • Sakumi, on 07/20/2009, -5/+109Well.. that's pretty epic. I wonder why he has such a fasination with airlines, and what drove him to do that.

    It sounds like an airline would be making a wise call if they were to hire him, even as a consultant. Sometimes the craziest people have the best ideas.
  • ichunes, on 07/20/2009, -5/+84Never go full retard!
  • klipseracer, on 07/20/2009, -1/+77Is there a form of autism that makes women flock to you like leo? If so i wanna be autistic as *****.
  • xptweakerntn, on 07/20/2009, -1/+77Bravo!
  • cronian, on 07/20/2009, -0/+59So, what was his downfall? He just needed to get some investors, buy some planes, and then he would have a real airline.
  • StealthyMong, on 07/20/2009, -2/+51http://agshipping.net/
  • XenoSNK, on 07/20/2009, -2/+50The internet is clearly a larger handicap than autism.


    /sarcasm
  • xieodeluxed, on 07/20/2009, -3/+49Well, he's going to have an awesomely interesting life. Have fun!
  • Soriven, on 07/20/2009, -0/+44This article goes into a bit more detail: http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/ind ...
  • Layne, on 07/20/2009, -1/+44I have a feeling you could fool a huge majority of people into believing you are pretty much anything just by setting up a somewhat decent website. How many people are actually going to look into it initially?
  • Sploxy, on 07/20/2009, -0/+38You sir, seem to be a danger to the English language.
  • LethalJizzle, on 07/20/2009, -0/+30Some have the intelligence but lack the balls. Some have the balls but lack the intelligence.
    This dude had both. Bravo.
  • sourc3, on 07/20/2009, -0/+30I think it might be a real corporate site...? The "Whois" info indicates it was originally registered back in 2003 to people living in California. I don't think a semi-autistic 17 year old would've thought to register a site like that at age 11? Could be he just found the site and passed it off as his own.
  • Layne, on 07/20/2009, -1/+29Better than a lot of real corporate sites.
  • caffiend, on 07/20/2009, -0/+27I once convinced a maitre d' that I was the sausage king of Chicago.
  • Velnich, on 07/20/2009, -1/+28The sad thing is that these people are often wasted (in the situations I hear about). Companies avoid using them because they fear them becoming a liability despite their ambition and ability.

    It's reminds me of the guy who was obsessed with the... new york I think... subway system. He gradually obtained authentic gear and knew everything about the system and job. He eventually started just showing up to work and doing various jobs until someone turned the police on him.
  • Mercedes383, on 07/20/2009, -0/+26A journalist got suspicious that Tait sounded a lot like one of the other executives in the company and eventually found that they were one and the same person.

    I wish he hadn't have been found out. I think you are right, he might well have started his own airline.
  • blairmiller, on 07/20/2009, -1/+24Seriously Mr. Troll, if you want people to pay you your bridge toll, you're going to have to stop popping up at every single bridge.
  • Jeff901, on 07/20/2009, -1/+24Insanity and genius share a fine gray line.
  • bsonline, on 07/20/2009, -0/+21Geesh, leave the kid alone. Once he has the contracts and agreements hammered out, he can with some security make arrangements for his fleet. Is he selling stock? I'd buy that for a dollar.
  • keviniskool, on 07/20/2009, -2/+23I did the same thing with the amusement park. Little did the owners know that I built a block of water in which to drown all of the dissenting patrons of Dick Flags.
  • charm803, on 07/20/2009, -1/+21"The police will not be taking action against the teenager, who is reported to suffer from a form of autism and to be able to recall the exact detail of every airline's flight schedule."

    There is a job out there that can use a kid like that. I think working with his strengths, he can be an asset to certain projects.

    His website is impressive.

  • dankenstein, on 07/20/2009, -0/+18I think savant is the word they were looking for.
  • kaosethema, on 07/20/2009, -3/+20FTA: "The police will not be taking action against the teenager, who is reported to suffer from a form of autism..."

    he tricks overpaid executives but HE suffers an ailment? really?
  • Willravel, on 07/20/2009, -0/+17"People only know what you tell 'em, Carl."
  • bduddy, on 07/20/2009, -4/+19No, and you shouldn't have to ask.
  • bagelmaster, on 07/20/2009, -2/+16Because they buy their way to world series wins. This is accepted fact to everyone except Yankee fans.
  • sentinel106, on 07/20/2009, -3/+16it's funny because ur bill oreilly
  • scubachef11, on 07/20/2009, -1/+14dug for 'i wanna be autistic as *****'
  • cesclaveria, on 07/20/2009, -0/+13"His exploits echo the schemes of the character played by Leonardo DiCaprio in the film Catch Me If You Can. The film, in turn, was based on the real life escapades of Frank Abagnale Jr, who posed as an airline pilot from the age of 16 and 21. "

    Sometimes doesn't hurt to read a little bit before commenting.
  • hakkola, on 07/20/2009, -0/+12This article is much better than the first, thanks.
  • Quartzblade, on 07/20/2009, -1/+13unsarcasm :[
  • Dino451, on 07/20/2009, -4/+14Maybe he's faking the autism?
  • silverchrysalis, on 07/20/2009, -0/+8why? how did he harm anyone in society other than a bit of wasted time?
  • isunktheship, on 07/20/2009, -0/+8I thought it was funny..
  • FLarsen, on 07/20/2009, -0/+8Yup. Einstein, who's sitting beside me here, agrees to that.
  • yacks, on 07/20/2009, -0/+8Anita Dash... Phone call for Anita Dash!!!
  • iletumi, on 07/20/2009, -0/+8U shoud be arrest immediate lee becosue you a danger too the english speak
  • DirtyVicar, on 07/20/2009, -0/+7I think he shows the potential to go on and do some great things in his life.
  • gvlax50, on 07/20/2009, -0/+6Woah, he looks just like Leo too! That's weird...

    /s
  • nickbotner, on 07/20/2009, -0/+6Thanks, that one is worth the read.
  • kevro, on 07/20/2009, -0/+6I like more detail.
  • wc3452, on 07/20/2009, -0/+6lol, reading his comments history has made my day.
  • versualize, on 07/20/2009, -0/+6Yeah, I've played Rollercoaster Tycoon 2 too.
  • benderillo, on 07/20/2009, -0/+5i think syntaxgs a pretty cool guy. eh grammars good, and doesn't afraid of anything
  • PersianPride, on 07/20/2009, -2/+7rofl
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