It’s Just Going to Be Different!
January 24, 2023 I lost my First Class Medical Certificate. Sometimes life throws at us what we don’t expect. My health has suffered in the shadow of the seven years of hell I went through at the hands of Delta management. I fought the good fight, and I won, and won again thanks to the truth, an incredible attorney Lee Seham, and honorable Judge Morris. Delta finally settled in the fall of 2022, but nothing has changed.
Nobody has been held accountable at Delta, and all those who participated in the action continued employment and some were even promoted. Even a Senior Delta VP found a position as the FAA administrator despite the company proven to have violated Federal Law. The most interesting aspect of my case is that Delta violated the Federal Regulation Safety Management System (SMS), and the FAA Administrator who enacted that very regulation is sitting on Delta’s board and did nothing.
For my health, and the determination that I could do more to create change on the outside of Delta than on the inside, I made a life decision to retire on January 31, 2023.
For anyone who does not know what transpired in Petitt vs Delta please read The Seattle Times article and watch the Maximus YouTube video for an eye-opening experience.
“Delta ‘weaponized’ mental health rules against a pilot. She fought back”
By Dominic Gates
By Maximus Aviation
While I shined a light on a serious industry issue of retaliation against employees who report safety concerns, my 7-year battle with Delta Air Lines has proven, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the AIR21 Statute is flawed. The law enabled Delta to engage in a war of attrition against me. I survived, but they took an 11-year career in the process. We must ensure this never happens to anyone ever again.
The behavior that Delta has proven to get away with, despite their loss in multiple courts, places passengers worldwide at risk. Safety demands that ground floor employees are allowed to speak out, and not fear retaliation when they identify high-risk behavior. Delta has proven that the highest level executives can retaliate without accountability.
I may be stepping out of the flightdeck, but I am stepping into a position of shining a floodlight on what happened to me to ensure it will never happen to anyone ever again. I did not sign an NDA when I settled with Delta. Now that I am retired, I am free to speak.
Please join me in viewing my event as an opportunity to create much needed change. I have formed a petition to change the AIR21 Statute. Please, take the time to click on the link below and sign the petition. Share it with everyone you know and ask them to do the same. This in the one way we can turn a negative into a positive:
Prevent Airline Management Retaliation
If you would like to read the details of the law change you can find that here:
Law Change: AIR21 Aviation Advocate Reform Act
“They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.”
Andy Warhol
Enjoy the Journey!
XO Karlene
