BEIJING - A 23-year-old unemployed man from southwest China managed to board a plane disguised as a pilot, state media said Thursday, pulling off a feat carried out by Leonardo DiCaprio on screen.

Shu Shi turned up at Beijing Capital International Airport in April, fully dressed and equipped like a pilot of the airline company whose flight he wanted to board, the Beijing News reported, which did not identify the carrier.

The young would-be captain, who had bought the uniform online and downloaded various identification documents, succeeded in getting on the plane which was headed for his home province, Guizhou.

He came unstuck only after the plane's pilot noticed his fake colleague's knowledge of aviation matters was somewhat at odds with reality, prompting him to put him under supervision after take-off and hand him over to police upon arrival.

Shu was detained for 10 days and fined 500 yuan (65 dollars), the Beijing News said.

In the 2002 Steven Spielberg movie "Catch Me If You Can," DiCaprio performs similar acts of deception before he, too, gets discovered.