![]() The flight was traveling from Philadelphia International Airport to Orlando International Airport. ![]() He and the first officer had never met prior to the flight. The statement from the Department of Justice added that "Haak further engaged in inappropriate conduct in the cockpit" while the first officer continued her in-flight duties. On August 10, 2020, after the plane reached cruising altitude, Haak, of Longwood, Florida, "got out of the pilot's seat, and while still in the cockpit of the plane, intentionally disrobed and viewed pornographic media on a laptop computer," according to federal prosecutors in Maryland. Michael Haak, 60, pleaded guilty on Friday to the charge and admitted to watching porn and exposing himself to the female first officer mid-flight. Janning said that when she contacted the union, its leaders did nothing to help her but did write a letter to Haak’s judge during his misdemeanor case saying he had a “spotless” record.A former pilot for Southwest Airlines was sentenced to one year of probation and fined $5,000 for a federal charge of committing "lewd, indecent, or obscene" acts during a flight. ![]() ![]() “Our corporate Culture is built upon treating others with mutual respect and dignity, and the events alleged in this situation are inconsistent with the behavior that we require of our Employees,” the statement read. Southwest denied Janning’s allegations, saying “we immediately supported (Janning) by cooperating with the appropriate outside agencies as they investigated.” She said a Southwest manager sent a memo to more than 25 employees “that made baseless allegations” about her flying competency. She also said that on the day she was grounded, the airline stranded her in Denver and the FBI had to book her a United Airlines flight so she could return home to Florida. She was then required to take “unnecessary” flight simulator training before she could work again. Janning said as retaliation for the FBI report, she was grounded for more than three months, costing her part of her salary. “This person will do and say whatever is necessary to obtain a financial windfall. Salnick says this incident never happened and Haak was never sent to a counseling center. Janning believes that’s because he saw a woman was the scheduled co-pilot. She says Haak, a 27-year veteran of the airline, had used his seniority rights the previous day to bump another pilot who had been scheduled to command the flight. ![]() The Associated Press doesn’t normally identify people who say they are victims of sex crimes, but Janning through her attorney agreed to the use of her name.Īccording to the lawsuit filed last week in Orange County, Florida, Janning had never met Haak before August 2020, when she was his co-pilot on a flight from Philadelphia to Orlando. The union did not respond to a phone call seeking comment. Southwest said it supported Janning and that it would “vigorously defend” itself against the lawsuit. Haak’s attorney, Michael Salnick, said Wednesday that his client disrobed only after Janning encouraged him to, never did anything else and that there were no previous incidents. He pleaded guilty last year to a federal misdemeanor charge of committing a lewd, indecent or obscene act and was sentenced to probation. She also alleges that the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association conspired with the airline and refused to support her. Christine Janning alleges that Southwest retaliated by grounding her after she reported Michael Haak to the company and the FBI, that it kept him employed despite an alleged history of sexual misconduct and that managers disparaged her in memos. ![]()
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