He Was Apparently Not Happy About Transfer To Houston, Among Other Things

Faced with a transfer to Houston and other apparently personal frustrations, a Southwest Airlines pilot inadvertently let an expletive-laced tirade go out over an ATC frequency March 25th. He was suspended by the airline after the nearly-two-minute rant.

The Fort Worth Star Telegram's aviation blog Sky Talk reports that the unnamed pilot dropped several f-bombs over the open microphone. He also made disparaging comments about gays and older co-workers. He expresses his dislike for Houston, "one of the ugliest bases," with "like maybe a handful of cute chicks." On the audio recording linked from the blog, a controller is heard cautioning the Southwest pilot that he has an open mic and that he should be careful about what he is saying. But the tirade continued.

The stuck mic switch was apparently eventually noticed in the cockpit, as the rant ends rather abruptly ... at which point a Skywest and one other pilot tell the controller "that wasn't us." The Skywest pilot remarked "and they wonder why airline pilots have a bad reputation."

The pilot has since been reinstated in his position. In a statement reproduced on the blog, Southwest said "The Pilot in question has been reprimanded, receiving a suspension without pay for a length of time. Prior to being reinstated, he underwent additional diversity education to reinforce the Company's expectations for all Employees to demonstrate respect for others. The pilot is remorseful and has formally apologized to both FAA Controllers and his base Leadership. Southwest’s Flight Operations Leadership has also sent an apology to Southwest Flight Attendants and his fellow Pilots."

FMI: www.southwest.com