

Mark Coulson sentenced him to one year of unsupervised probation and a $5,000 fine. Michael Haak, 60, apologized and expressed remorse for his actions before U.S. – A retired Southwest Airlines pilot was sentenced to probation Friday after pleading guilty to exposing himself to a female first officer and watching pornography on a laptop during a flight from Philadelphia to Florida last year.
#Michael haak pilot linkedin tv
She 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.Ĭlick here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.COLLEGE PARK, Md. “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.
#Michael haak pilot linkedin simulator
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. She alleges Southwest had sent Haak to a Montreal sexual harassment counseling center after a 2008 incident involving a flight attendant. Janning then went to the FBI, who charged Haak.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/LHWFJ4ZK2FBUXLXZBXRDHJMZ2M.jpg)
Janning says she was soon told that because Haak had retired, the airline’s investigation was closed. She said she asked the investigator not to inform her boss, but she did. She said she waited because her boss had disparaged her to a male colleague previously. Meanwhile, Janning didn’t report the incident to a Southwest employee relations investigator until three months later. Janning said in the lawsuit that she was “horrified,” but she kept flying the plane while taking photos “to create a record.” The plane landed safely.Īnd that wasn’t Haak’s final flight - he flew for three more weeks. Janning’s attorney, Frank Podesta, denied she encouraged Haak or made any advances. He said Haak rejected those and adamantly denied a lewd act occurred.Īt his sentencing hearing last year, Haak called the incident “a consensual prank” that got out of hand. When he replied he wanted to fly naked, she told him to go ahead and then made sexual advances after he disrobed, Salnick said. Salnick said it was Janning who asked Haak if there was anything he wanted to do before retiring.

Hurricane Ian: Biden visits storm-ravaged southwest Florida He then put the plane on autopilot, stripped off his clothes, began watching pornography on his laptop and committed a lewd act for 30 minutes while taking photos and videos of himself. She said he bolted the door so no flight attendant could enter. Janning said that when they reached cruising altitude, Haak told her this was his final flight and there was something he wanted to do before retirement. 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. Read: Ricker Road at 103rd Street temporarily closed for intersection upgrades The union did not respond to a phone call seeking comment. Southwest said it supported Janning and that it will “vigorously defend” itself against the lawsuit. Haak’s attorney, Michael Salnick, said Wednesday that his client disrobed only after Janning encouraged him to and never did anything else.
