Now-former airline pilot Michael Haak, 60, was sentenced to a year's probation after admitting lewd conduct in exposing himself to a female first officer and watching porn in the cockpit. A Maryland judge also fined him $5000 over the incident, which occurred during a Philadelphia to Orlando flight on August 10 last year.
When the flight reached cruising altitude, Haak got out of the pilot's seat, "intentionally disrobed" and watched pornographic media on a laptop. "Haak further engaged in inappropriate conduct in the cockpit, as the first officer continued to perform her duties," federal prosecutors said in a statement. Haak had never met the first officer prior to the flight, they added.
He was charged in Maryland because "it was the state that the plane was flying over at the time." Haak retired from a 27-year career with Southwest Airlines days after the incident.
