A federal criminal case arising from Southwest Airlines pilot misconduct on Flight 6607 has expanded into a civil action alleging that the carrier and its pilots’ union retaliated against the first officer who reported the incident, with the case now spanning court filings, a union motion to have the complainant pay legal costs, and fresh details about why she delayed coming forward.
What Happened on Flight 6607
On 10 August 2020, Christine Janning was operating Southwest Airlines Flight 6607 from Philadelphia to Orlando when Captain Michael Haak allegedly locked the cockpit door, a federal violation, before removing his clothes and watching pornography on a tablet. Janning’s 2022 lawsuit stated that Haak ‘masturbated in front of Ms. Janning while watching pornography on a tablet,’ telling her that since it was his final flight, there was ‘something [he] wanted to do before retiring.’ The incident lasted approximately 30 minutes. During that time, Haak reportedly took photos and videos of himself, encouraged Janning to do the same, and later allegedly attempted to block her exit and threatened to crash the aircraft if she did not comply. Haak’s lawyer denied that he masturbated and contended that Janning had encouraged him to be naked.
Janning took photographs of the incident as evidence. She told investigators she had never met Haak before the flight and that Southwest ‘incorrectly concluded’ the pair had previously flown together.
In May 2021, U.S. Magistrate Judge J. Mark Coulson sentenced Haak, then 60, to 12 months of probation and a $5,000 fine after he admitted committing a lewd, indecent, or obscene act during a flight on which he was pilot in command. The U.S. Department of Justice also imposed a $10 special assessment. CBS News reported that Haak, at sentencing, described the incident as ‘a consensual prank’ that got out of hand.
Southwest Airlines Pilot Misconduct Report Closed Without Investigation
According to Business Insider, Janning did not make a formal report to Southwest immediately after the incident. She delayed coming forward because she feared retaliation from the chief pilot at Orlando, and did not want him involved in the case following a prior incident in which he had allegedly ‘disparaged’ her to a male captain. When she did file her internal complaint, roughly three months after the flight, Southwest informed her that the case was closed with no internal investigation conducted, on the basis that Haak had already retired and the airline was unwilling to contact him.
The airline’s position, as stated in response to the civil proceedings, was that Haak had retired before it learned of the incident, that it cooperated with investigators, penalised Haak, and stopped paying him benefits. Southwest Airlines denied that it had reached any agreement with the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association (SWAPA) to retaliate against Janning.
Janning’s 2022 lawsuit named Haak, Southwest Airlines, and SWAPA, citing violations of the Florida Civil Rights Act along with claims of negligent retention, negligent supervision, sexual assault, and conspiracy. Her 2024 Fourth Amendment Complaint alleged that SWAPA had sided with Haak, writing to the sentencing judge to describe his ‘spotless employment and training record’ and stating he had no prior employment-related issues requiring union representation.
Janning disputed that characterisation directly. She alleged that Haak had been reported to SWAPA’s Professional Standards committee by four crew members in 2008 for ‘sexual predation,’ and accused both the union and the airline of attempting to conceal those reports during the federal investigation. She further alleged that Southwest and SWAPA directed employees not to cooperate with the FBI until investigators warned that doing so constituted obstruction of a federal investigation.
Janning also alleged that she was grounded and labelled a safety hazard and mentally unstable by Southwest and SWAPA, though she subsequently withdrew the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) from that part of the complaint after finding the agency’s involvement to be untrue.
In 2023, SWAPA filed a motion to dismiss Janning’s complaint, arguing she had not demonstrated sufficient evidence of a collective decision to retaliate. The union also sought a court order requiring Janning to contribute to its legal costs. Southwest and SWAPA had not responded to a request for comment at the time of the original report. The civil case, running alongside the concluded federal criminal proceedings, centres on whether internal reporting mechanisms at the carrier and its union provide meaningful protection for crew members who report misconduct by colleagues.
