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. “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. After the plane reached its cruising altitude, Haak got out of the pilot’s seat, “disrobed” and began watching pornographic material on a laptop computer in the cockpit, prosecutors said. I never imagined it would turn into this in a thousand years,” Haak said during a remote hearing.įederal prosecutors said in a news release that Haak had never met the first officer before that flight bound for Orlando on Aug. “It started as a consensual prank between me and the other pilot. 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. (AP) - A retired Southwest Airlines pilot was sentenced to probation Friday after pleading guilty to exposing his genitals to a female first officer and watching pornography on a laptop during a flight from Philadelphia to Florida last year. Sub scribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.COLLEGE PARK, Md. Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. The Cardinals have a new punter, Clark gets his old college number and Wilson has a number more like the one he wore in college. If there was any doubt as to whether Lee would return, now we know it is highly unlikely. 13 for Louisville, where he played in college. 4 while playing at Stanford collegiately.Ĭlark now has the No. The team roster now shows Wilson having No. With the signing of punter Matt Haack, the Cardinals have apparently moved on from Andy Lee, who was their punter for the last seven seasons.

13 and cornerback Kei’Trel Clark, drafted in the sixth round, received No.

Among those numbers, receiver Michael Wilson, drafted in the third round, received No. The Arizona Cardinals, not long after the NFL draft, announced the uniforms that their nine player selections would wear.

Micheal haak