She says Haak, a 27-year airline veteran, used his seniority rights to push another pilot assigned to command the flight the previous day. The Associated Press does not typically identify individuals who claim to be victims of sex crimes, but Janning, through her attorney, consented to the use of her name.Īccording to the lawsuit filed last week in Orange County, Fla., Janning had never met Haak prior to August 2020 when she was his co-pilot on a flight from Philadelphia to Orlando. The union did not respond to a call for comment. Southwest said it supports Janning and will “vigorously” defend itself against the lawsuit. Haak’s attorney, Michael Salnick, said Wednesday that his client only undressed after Janning encouraged him to do so, never did anything else and that there had been no prior incidents. He pleaded guilty to a federal misdemeanor last year of committing a lewd, indecent or obscene act and was sentenced to probation. She also claims that the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association conspired with the airline and refused to support it. Southwest Airlines was recently in the news because another one of their pilots was caught on a hot mic ranting about “fucking liberals” in California who were “probably driving around in fucking Hyundais.A Southwest Airlines pilot is suing the company, her union and a former colleague who pleaded guilty to locking the cockpit door and stripping naked in front of her during a flight last year.Ĭhristine Janning alleges Southwest retaliated by grounding her after she reported Michael Haak to the company and the FBI that it continued to employ him despite an alleged history of sexual misconduct and that managers disparaged her in memos. The court docket does not currently show that Haak has an attorney of record. “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.” Southwest Airlines takes all matters related to workplace conduct very seriously, with a well-defined policy and reporting process for harassment, sexual harassment, discrimination, and retaliation claims,” spokesperson Brandy King said in a statement. The event was recently brought to our attention and we’ve cooperated with the appropriate outside agencies as they investigate. “The Pilot in question is no longer Employed by Southwest Airlines and departed the Company last year prior to us becoming aware of the matter. The company did say it became aware of the incident after Haak left. We were told that Haak left the company last year (though it was not said when that departure occurred). Law&Crime reached out to Southwest Airlines for comment on the situation. A person who violates any provision of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined not more than the amount set forth in § 22-3571.01, imprisoned for not more than 90 days, or both. It is unlawful for a person to make an obscene or indecent sexual proposal to a minor. It is unlawful for a person, in public, to make an obscene or indecent exposure of his or her genitalia or anus, to engage in masturbation, or to engage in a sexual act as defined in § 22-3001(8). Code § 22-1112), shall be fined under title 18, imprisoned under section 9 of the Act, or both. (2) if committed in the District of Columbia would violate section 9 of the Act of J(D.C. Code § 46506(2), which deals with the “Application of certain criminal laws to acts on aircraft.”Īn individual on an aircraft in the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States who commits an act that. “The acts began, continued and were completed while the aircraft was in flight from Philadelphia International Airport to Orlando International Airport, during which it overflew parts of the District of Maryland and other federal districts.” Code Section 22-1112),” the one-page document says. “On or about August 10, 2020, on an aircraft in the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States, namely Southwest Airlines Flight WN 6607, of which he was the pilot in command, the defendant, MICHAEL HAAK, intentionally committed an act of lewd, indecent and obscene exposure of his genitals in a public place, which if committed in the District of Columbia would violate D.C. District Court for the District of Maryland. 2020 has been charged with a misdemeanor for allegedly committing a lewd act during the flight from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Orlando, Florida. Court records reviewed by Law&Crime show that a criminal information was filed against Michael Haak on Friday in the U.S. A pilot who was commanding a Southwest Airlines plane in Aug.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |