Pilot uses Star Wars villain Jabba the Hutt as reference on application; gets fired

A bizarre application saw a pilot lose his job when his bosses found out he named the famed Star Wars villain Jabba the Hutt as a reference on his application.

The 46-year-old pilot, Nigel Francis McGann was accused of putting lives at risk with his bogus attempt at being captain with cargo firm West Atlantic UK.

The cheeky pilot put Desilijic Tiure, the real name of Jabba, as a reference in his CV for the job.

Bosses first became suspicious when they realised he was trained only to first officer level — second in command of a plane.

They dug deeper, on grounds of suspicion and spotted his fake reference.

West Atlantic airline bosses were suspicious when they saw Desilijic Tiure on Francis-McGann's application.

While he took them to an employment tribunal in Birmingham for breach of contract, his case was rejected and he was ordered to pay back £4,725 — the cost of his completed training — to West Atlantic.