“Nonetheless, Southwest did investigate the matter and as a result, ceased paying Mr. Southwest spokesperson Chris Mainz said in a statement that the airline “does not tolerate behavior of this nature and will take prompt action if such conduct is substantiated.” Southwest only learned of Haak’s behavior after he voluntarily left the airline, according to Mainz. 31, 2020, three weeks after the incident that led to the criminal charge. His last flight for the Dallas-based airline was on Aug. Haak, a resident of Longwood, Florida, was a Southwest Airlines pilot for 27 years until his retirement. The judge wasn’t bound by that recommendation. He was charged in Maryland because it was one of the states that the aircraft passed over that day.įederal prosecutors agreed to recommend a sentence of probation without requiring Haak to register as a sex offender. Haak was charged in April with intentionally committing a lewd, indecent or obscene act in a public place, a misdemeanor punishable by a maximum of 90 days in jail. “She had a right not to be subjected to this kind of behavior, regardless of what may have motivated it or prompted it,” the prosecutor said. “This is not the kind of aberrant behavior that anyone should accept,” the prosecutor added.Ĭunningham said the first officer “unfortunately suffered some consequences” as a result of the incident that Haak “didn’t have anything to do with,” but he didn’t elaborate. ![]() Haak “had a duty to comport himself in a much more responsible manner,” Assistant U.S. The judge told Haak that his actions had a traumatic effect on the co-pilot and could have impacted the safety of passengers and other co-workers. The first officer submitted a statement to the court but didn’t speak during Friday’s hearing. The lawsuit alleges that the union helped Southwest by concealing sexual assault and harassment reports made against Haak by other women before the FBI began the investigation.“As the plane continued its flight, Haak further engaged in inappropriate conduct in the cockpit, as the first officer continued to perform her duties as an assigned aircrew member,” the statement says. ![]() ![]() The vice president of the union said that Haak had a clean employment record, and the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association would not advocate for Jannings. She says that the airline revoked her flight status indefinitely after flight operations leaders became aware of a possible lawsuit. Jannings wanted to keep the incident private, but reports say that Southwest published the events to at least 25 employees. The airline was not willing to contact Haak, so Jannings met with the FBI to handle the incident. The company said the case was closed without an investigation since Haak was retired, according to the lawsuit. ![]() She also says that there was a prior incident where he “disparaged” her to a male captain. Jannings made her formal report to Southwest Airlines three months later because she was afraid that Haak, Orlando’s chief pilot, would retaliate. Jannings took photos to keep a record of the incident. While on a flight from Philadelphia to Orlando, Haak told Jannings that there was “something he wanted to do before retiring.” Reports say Haak then locked the cockpit door with her inside, pulled up pornography on his tablet, and masturbated in front of her.ĭuring the incident, Haak took photos, videotaped himself, and asked Jannings to do the same. The Southwest Airlines pilot, Christine Jannings, says that Southwest retaliated against her after reporting her co-pilot, Michael Haak, for an incident that happened in 2020.
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