Oh, yes, this is such a common fantasy among Arabs who are here illegally. Sure. I can just envision him in his lonely room, saying to himself, "Gee, I love to try on my captain's uniform and pretend I'm a real live airline captain. I'll get all those great-looking kuffir airline stewardesses to pay attention me, and the plane will soar through the wild blue yonder. . ." And then he falls asleep, weaving dreams of aviation glory.
No, I don't think so.
I dunno, if he wanted to find a sponsor, all he had to do was find a racialized mosque (the Queens yellow pages are full of them) and troll for a gig. I think maybe he liked life in the U.S. and shared a fantasy common to many young men, worldwide.