STEVEN P. Pixley, Asia Pacific Airlines lawyer, issued the following statement on Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024:
“On Dec. 11, 2024, following a three-year investigation, the U.S. Department of Labor issued findings in an AIR 21 whistleblower complaint involving a former pilot who was terminated by Asia Pacific Airlines following a serious breach of safety protocol which occurred at the Honolulu Airport on November 21, 2021. Asia Pacific Airlines strongly disagrees with these findings which inexplicably ignore significant evidence including sworn statements of material witnesses.
“At the time of the foregoing incident the pilot was in command of a Boeing 757 aircraft. He prematurely powered up the aircraft’s engines and began taxiing the aircraft while ground crew were still in dangerously close proximity to the aircraft. On Aug. 15, 2023, the pilot admitted under oath that this incident could have resulted in serious bodily injury to the ground crew. Significantly, this incident was witnessed by a Federal Aviation Administration Safety Director who expressed serious safety concerns to Asia Pacific Airlines regarding the pilot’s reckless actions. Moreover, ground crew personnel described this incident as being extremely dangerous.
“The pilot applied for unemployment benefits with the State of Hawaii. On Feb. 22, 2022, the State of Hawaii issued a decision denying unemployment benefits finding that the pilot had violated company policies, that the pilot confirmed that he was ‘accountable for this potential fatal error’ and that he ‘was negligent to such a degree to show misconduct.’ The U.S. Department of Labor elected to ignore these findings. The U.S. Department of Labor also ignored sworn testimony which seriously undermined the pilot’s credibility.
“Asia Pacific Airlines will formally file objections to the Secretary’s Findings and request a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge.”