American Airlines FO Sigsbee Nelson Is...

I'm back-ish with bits of news and links.

Late yesterday, a jury in federal court in Los Angeles, California unanimously found retired American Airlines First Officer Sigsbee “John” Nelson not liable for sexually assaulting and harassing two flight attendants on a trip to Brazil, the Daily Journal is reporting.

I was not able to cover this civil case in L.A., and the story has a paywall, so I don’t know all the details of what went on in court, but the original lawsuit is a good place to start to see what was at stake.

I have not contacted anyone involved in the case since the verdict came down. I want to give all parties time to breathe and process. It’s been a five-year ordeal—including the 2019 alleged acts themselves—for flight attendants Janette Beckman and LeeAnne Hansen and their legal team, which filed a lawsuit against Nelson and American Airlines in 2020.

Anyone reading this involved in the case, please feel free to contact me if you wish.

I do know that closing arguments were made Tuesday morning, and the jury deliberated for about three hours later that day. They returned yesterday at 8:30 a.m. Pacific, and the verdict came down that same day.

Like so many stories coming out about American Airlines male pilots, the original lawsuit portrays a seedy, sordid workplace in which an airline and fellow pilots (and others) enabled alleged bad behavior and even allegedly criminal acts so the Old Boys’ Club could party on, unhindered.

Nelson was cleared by this jury of sexual harassment and sexual assault of these FAs.

But American hasn’t had to answer for these allegations or for any other alarming behavior their own employees testified to.

I urge you to read the original piece I wrote about this case, about American Airlines’ role in allowing Nelson to continue working there despite multiple reports about him, and for flight attendants: Learn how to protect yourself legally and procedurally if you’re assaulted on a layover by your own coworkers.

None of This can Continue Without Enablers

The suit says American never investigated reports of Nelson’s drinking on the job, and reveals that the FAs in this case “understand that American was aware of Nelson’s on-shift drinking such that it was reasonably foreseeable that Nelson would become drunk and disorderly during his work shifts.”

As a refresher, the alleged sexual assault that Nelson was just cleared of in civil court occurred after landing in Brazil on a layover. But there were more allegations that were not a part of the civil claims he faced. An upset Beckman told Captain Bob Sipovac, her supervisor in command of the flight to Brazil, about the encounter.

“Far from surprised, Captain Sipovac shared that, in the cockpit, Nelson boasted of his sexual conquests with underage prostitutes—in reality, child sex slaves—and visits to strip clubs during layovers, even showing pictures he kept as mementos,” court papers say.

Yet Sipovac did nothing to protect the FAs or report Nelson, the suit says.

“Captain Sipovac could have reported the misconduct but did not. He could have separated FO Nelson from [the FAs], as he was his supervisor and had the authority to do so. Captain Sipovac’s solution was not only to do nothing, but to ensure that FO Nelson had more contact with the victim flight attendants,” court papers say.

Sigsbee Nelson was never disciplined by American Airlines for anything his own fellow pilots said about his behavior. He testified that American Airlines didn’t terminate him or ask him to retire.

Nelson went skipping off on his merry way with his full AA retirement benefits and no disciplinary action listed in his file, nabbing himself another job flying for a charter company.

In another case, American Airlines, as you may know, has never responded in the past three years or so to my multiple requests for comment and clarification about the many, many reports that their F.O. Sten Molin, who crashed a plane killing over 260 people while hopped up on ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, showed increasingly unhinged behavior before his death, writing long, sexually graphic, unwanted emails to flight attendants who say they found him repulsive. Several women contacted me to say they were young teens when he groomed and/or assaulted them, and sometimes lied about his age, saying he was much younger than his 30-something years when “wooing” a 16-year-old girl in a state where the age of consent is and was 17.

This kind of coverup, this protecting of pilots who act outrageously at the expense of disposable FAs—as one put it so vividly to me recently, they’re “barcodes” to be pushed through training—is baked in to the culture. For those who think maybe American wouldn’t deign to respond to me if they could, that’s interesting, because almost every other airline and regulatory body, lawyers, victims, plaintiffs, agencies, etc. etc. all respond to my requests for comment.

American Airlines isn’t responding because they won’t deny what is obvious to anyone with objectivity and two brain cells to rub together. Believe victims. Believe women.

I am going to repeat myself here speaking generally about all airlines: Flight attendants, don’t think it can’t happen to you. Go to my original story for tips on how American Airlines views reports from FAs who say their pilots are allegedly touching and harassing them. Learn the exact right things do to do protect yourself—because chances are, whatever airline you’re with, they WILL NOT PROTECT YOU. Rather, they’ll bend over backward to protect your assailant.

Don’t believe it? Spend some time reading stories here.

Anyway…

• I’m watching another case at Horizon Air/Alaska Airlines. The September court date for a hearing about a current restraining order against their pilot Brendan Butler has been pushed forward. I’ll stay on top of it and report back when the case is heard in an Oregon court.

It’s hard not to despair. But we can’t give up on reporting abuse and calling out perpetrators of sexual harassment, assault, bullying and child abuse.

This came up on my LinkedIn feed when I checked it this morning, and it hit me a certain way given case after case of airlines (and fellow pilots) protecting known predators. Shame on all of you. Wise words, Jodee and Lundy.

Have a good rest of your week and thank you for reading, and thank you to The Landing’s paid subscribers for sticking with me during a very tough year and various hiatuses. I’m back sooner than I thought this time because I got lucky. Totally off topic, but don’t ignore your health. Get checked. Get everything checked. Don’t let it slide. Take it from me.

xoSara