Southwest flight attendants accuse Texas pilots of recording passengers in bathroom

Two flight attendants have filed a federal lawsuit alleging that pilots on a 2017 Southwest Airlines flight recorded passengers using the bathroom.

Southwest says it was a misguided joke and that there were no cameras in the restroom.

Flight attendant Renee Steinaker was working Flight 1088 from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Phoenix, Arizona, on Feb. 27, 2017, when Captain Terry Graham asked her to take his place in the cockpit while he used the bathroom, according to a news release from Steinaker’s attorneys.

Steinaker says she entered the cockpit and saw an iPad mounted near the captain’s seat, streaming video of Graham in the bathroom, the release says. When Steinaker asked First Officer Ryan Russell if it was, indeed, a live-stream of the bathroom, he confirmed that it was, according to the release.

Steinaker says she took a picture of the iPad and filed a report with airline managers once the flight landed, the release says. The lawsuit alleges that representatives from Southwest directed Steinaker and other flight attendants not to tell anyone about the incident.

In a statement to KPNX, Southwest says there was never a camera in the bathroom.

“Southwest will vigorously defend the lawsuit. When the incident happened two years ago, we investigated the allegations and addressed the situation with the crew involved,” the statement says. “We can confirm from our investigation that there was never a camera in the lavatory; the incident was an inappropriate attempt at humor which the company did not condone.”

Graham and Russell, who both live in Texas, have also denied the allegation and are “demanding a jury trial,” according to the news outlet.

The lawsuit was initially filed in Arizona in October 2018 before it was moved to federal district court in August, the release says. Renee Steinaker and her husband, David, — also a Southwest flight attendant — are seeking punitive damages against the airline, as well as Graham and Russell.

This story was originally published October 27, 2019 at 12:33 PM with the headline "Southwest flight attendants accuse Texas pilots of recording passengers in bathroom."