What do Air France and American Airlines Flight 587 Have in Common?
Plus: I'm a guest on Dr. Tony Kern's podcast talking about sexual harassment and assault in the aviation industry this week
Note: Chapter Three in the Stalker Series is coming soon. We’re heading toward the shocking conclusion where I discover the slip-up that gave me solid evidence to pursue a criminal and/or civil case. The 3.5-year ordeal is ongoing, and illustrates the retaliation and pushback that victims, survivors and whistleblowers receive.
Thank you Delta Captain (Ret.) and fellow author Karlene Petitt for this wonderful review of The Strong Ones, my memoir/military history book about a U.S. Army strength study I participated in that showed women are strong enough to do the toughest jobs (because duh).
Answer to the headline riddle: Both were/are controlled by people who think it’s OK to sexually assault, harass and bully female crewmates, and retaliate against those who report it.
More on that explosive new investigation below.
But first, this. Because the latest episode of Dr. Tony Kern’s Only Human—News, Analysis, and Insights from the World of Human Performance podcast is a much-needed contribution to the conversation around why sexual harassment and assault is allowed to continue in aviation.
Tony and I had been in touch sporadically via various social media platforms over the past couple of years. Upon receiving his invitation, I looked further into his background.
Besides being a prolific author and founding partner and CEO of Convergent Performance, LLC, a veteran-owned small business in Colorado Springs, Tony “has deep operational roots in the U.S. Air Force as a Command Pilot and Flight Examiner in the B-1B bomber, as well as diverse senior staff and leadership experience, including service as the Chairman of the U.S. Air Force Human Factors Steering Group, and Director and Professor of Military History at the USAF Academy.”
All very impressive. But this 👇🏻👇🏻 was my favorite part.
“Gentlemen, we have a problem, and that problem is we have an industry that preys on women,” he began. While some may say “it’s not that bad, it is that bad.”—Dr. Tony Kern during his presentation on the opening day of the 2022 Bombardier Safety Standdown
It was fascinating talking with someone with his expertise and understanding of aviation culture who I view as a true ally to women the industry.
He listens when victim-survivors of sexual harassment and assault when they talk about what happens to them on the job. He gave me space to share how reports that American Airlines FO Sten Molin harassed and/or assaulted multiple FAs launched me into this work. We discussed how this case is not an outlier, and some commercial airlines pilots are still merrily harassing, assaulting and objectifying women on the job, such as this case, where it is alleged a young pilot is doing all these things:
We talked about Southwest’s treatment of Captain Christine Janning, who was allegedly assaulted in the flight deck by convicted Cockpit Creep Michael Haak, plus Retired Delta Captain Karlene Petitt’s book, AIR 21: Delta’s Debacle.
We batted around some ideas for how this culture might begin to change.
Give it a listen and if you like what you hear, share, share, share.
‘He got me in the galley alone and shoved his tongue down my throat’
Did you see this Air France investigation from three months ago? These stories read like we’re living in the last century! I was floored when I came upon it. The quotes from flight attendants and pilots in this piece are eerily similar to what women have been telling me for years.
When will we believe victims?
The testimony is, in some places, word for word what flight attendants and pilots have shared about their assaults and harassment by American Airlines pilot Sten Molin—and allegedly other pilots he flew with. Onboard and on layovers, he treated flight attendants like his personal playthings. Objects. Servants. Victims. Captives.
The article about the investigation points the finger at what we’ve known forever: Certain pilots are protected, treated like gods, like kings at the expense of vulnerable crewmates.
Compare and contrast Air France with reports from other airlines (there is so much more, but this is a taste).
AF flight attendant Dominique described a dinner with two pilots, at which she accidentally dropped her credit card near one of their feet.
"He spread his legs, picked it up, then rubbed it against his crotch before putting it in his mouth. Then he leaned over the table, got close to my face, and I realised he wanted me to retrieve my credit card with my mouth."
A Sten Molin FA victim while both worked for American Airlines: “He said I turned him on. He trapped me against the wall in the galley and shoved his tongue down my throat.”
Mathilde, an Air France flight attendant: said she has suffered harassment almost daily during her 20-year career. On one flight, the chief steward grabbed her by the hips and thrust himself against her when she was crouching down.
"I told him to stop and he answered: ‘You don’t realise how much you turn me on.’ He pinned me against the ovens with his hands on my breasts."
The harassment continued at the hotel where the crew were staying. "He pulled me towards him and kissed me in full view of the staff. Then, on the return flight, he grabbed my hand and put it on his penis."
Mathilde informed her superiors but the steward denied the allegations and no action was taken. "His word was obviously worth more than mine," she said. She filed a police complaint but three years on, the investigation is still ongoing.
American Airlines FAs LeeAnne Hansen and Jan Beckman: They reported American Airlines FO John Sigsbee Nelson after he allegedly walked up behind Hansen and "grabbed Hansen by her hips, dug his nails into her hip bones and repeatedly pushed against her body” on a layover.
They reported Nelson's alleged assault to the captain, along with Nelson’s potential drinking of alcohol during the flight, jeopardizing the safety of passengers and the flight crew, the suit says. Acting unsurprised, the captain told the women that while in the cockpit, Nelson "boasted of his sexual conquests with underage prostitutes ... and visits to strip clubs during layovers, even showing pictures he kept as mementos," the suit says.
Air France was “like a flying bordello,” one FA who worked at multiple airlines back when Molin was alive told me when I first got into this.
One of the positive things about being immersed in what are often very sad, very upsetting stories is the supportive messages I receive. There are allies everywhere.
I hear from men in aviation who find this behavior abhorrent and unacceptable, and I am always happy when they post their disgust with this culture publicly.
I’m asking more of you to join them. To step up. To start to understand the damage done to women simply trying to do their jobs in a career they once loved, or hopefully, miraculously, still do.
Are you watching boys being boys at work and letting it go? If so, you’re part of the problem. Do better!
Lots of good people are all around the bad apples. Now’s the time for them to stand up.
Let’s see what you’re made of.
Thank you for reading.
—Sara
Thank you for your incredible support and all your hard work exposing predators in the aviation industry. And Thank you Dr Tony Kern for hearing our stories and giving them a platform! This means so much to all victims, that someone out there cares and we are finally being heard and believed.
I wonder how much it costs and/or what it would require to make The Landing a podcast? Or similar about predators in aviation and male dominated fields in general? I know there are two ladies (who love aviation, not aviation industry professionals themselves) who created a podcast series called Take To The Skies about plane crashes that did quite well.
That way victims of Sten Molin could be interviewed and people could finally hear us tell our stories and know we are all real and not all you or one person (according to Molin’s underage Baby Momma). I was amazed at how quick, easy, and cheap it is to make a YouTube video.
I would be interested to hear more about the Air France situation. Dr Kern makes an excellent point that you need to understand the mentality of all the enablers of this behaviour. I’ve been out of the loop for a while because I needed a mental break, but it’s good to know that we are making some inroads in trying to stop this kind of thing from happening.