A Southwest Airlines pilot is back in the skies after accidentally broadcasting a profane, gay-bashing tirade directed at the Chicago-based flight crews he worked with.
The pilot, whose name the airlines did not choose to disclose, apparently went through diversity training after describing the crews as a "continuous stream of gays and grannies and grandes" and "eleven f***ing over-the-top, f***ing a**-f***ing homosexuals."
(Scroll down for a transcript of his remarks.)
With his headset microphone stuck on "broadcast," his tirade went out to air traffic control and all the other aircraft in the area.
Southwest said Wednesday that the pilot was reinstated after going through diversity training. The incident happened in March and was reported this week by KPRC-TV in Houston.
"The actions of this pilot are, without question, inconsistent with the professional behavior and overall respect that we require from our employees," said Southwest spokeswoman Brandy King. She said the pilot was reprimanded and suspended without pay, although she wouldn't say for how long. She said he apologized to air-traffic controllers and his bosses at Southwest.
Southwest said it also apologized to its flight attendants and pilots.
FAA spokesman Lynn Lunsford said the incident occurred at a time in the flight when personal conversions are allowed in the cockpit but that the FAA "expects a higher level of professionalism from flight crews."
Read a transcript of some of the remarks:
Well, I had Tucson to Indy all four weeks, and Chicago crews. 11 out of 12, there’s 12 flight attendants, individual, never the same flight attendant twice, eleven f***ing over-the-top, f***ing a**-f***ing homosexuals and a granny.
Eleven. I mean, think of the odds of that. I thought I was in Chicago, which was party-land.
After that, it was just a continuous stream of gays and grannies and grandes… Well I don’t give a f***. I hate 100 percent of their a**es.
So, six months, I went to the bar three times. In six months, three times.
Once with the granny and the f*g, and I wish I hadn’t gone.
At the very end with two girls, one of them that was part do-able, but we ended up going to the bar and then to the crew at St. Louis, and all these two women wanted to do was, one wanted to berate her sister and the other wanted to bitch about her husband.
Literally, for three hours, me and the F.O. (First officer). When that was done, got back to my room, I’m like why the f*** did I stay up?